The distribution of the DEK protein in mammalian chromatin

• Published in: Biochemical and biophysical research communications Vol. 358; no. 4; pp. 1008 - 1014
• Main Authors: Hu, Hong-gang, Scholten, Ingo, Gruss, Claudia, Knippers, Rolf
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 13.07.2007
• Subjects: 3T3 Cells; Animals; Binding Sites; Chromatin - genetics; Chromatin - metabolism; Chromatin immunoprecipitation; Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone - genetics; Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone - metabolism; DEK; HeLa Cells; Humans; Immunofluorescence; Mice; Oncogene Proteins - genetics; Oncogene Proteins - metabolism; Poly-ADP-Ribose Binding Proteins; Promoter; Promoter Regions, Genetic - genetics; Protein Binding; Topoisomerase I; Chromatin immunoprecipitation; Promoter; Topoisomerase I; DEK; Immunofluorescence
• ISSN: 0006-291X; 1090-2104
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.05.019

DEK is an abundant and ubiquitous chromatin protein. Here we investigate whether DEK is regularly distributed in the chromatin of human HeLa cells. We show that DEK appears to be excluded from the heterochromatic compartment. However, DEK seems to colocalize with a subfraction of chromatin bearing acetylated histone H4. We examined certain DNA sequences in specifically immunoprecipitated chromatin for four selected human genes. We found that most of the investigated gene sequences were moderately enriched in immunoprecipitated chromatin. In contrast, a promoter-proximal element of the human TOP1 gene was highly enriched in the chromatin immunoprecipitates. This enrichment was lost when cells were treated with α-amanitin showing that DEK binds to this particular site only when the TOP1 gene is actively expressed. Our conclusion is that DEK could serve as an architectural protein at the promoter or enhancer sites of a subfraction of human genes.