ATRX marks the inactive X chromosome (Xi) in somatic cells and during imprinted X chromosome inactivation in trophoblast stem cells.

ABSTRACT: Mammalian X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is an essential mechanism to compensate for dosage imbalances between male and female embryos. Although the molecular pathways are not fully understood, heterochromatinization of the Xi requires the coordinate recruitment of multiple epigenetic marks. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis combined with immunocytochemistry, we demonstrate that the chromatin remodeling protein ATRX decorates the chromatids of a single, late replicating X chromosome in female somatic cells and co-localizes with the bona fide marker of the Xi, macroH2A1.2. Chromatin immunoprecipitation using somatic, embryonic stem (ES) cells and trophoblast stem (TS) cells as model for random and imprinted XCI, respectively, revealed that, in somatic and TS cells, ATRX exh

SUBMITTER: Baumann C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2877807 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature