The Acetylation Landscape of the H4 Histone Tail: Disentangling the Interplay between the Specific and Cumulative Effects

Lysine Acetylation Facilitates Spontaneous DNA Dynamics in the Nucleosome

The nucleosome, comprising a histone protein core wrapped around by DNA, is the fundamental packing unit of DNA in cells. Lysine acetylation at the histone core elevates DNA accessibility in the nucleosome, the mechanism of which remains largely unknown. By employing our recently developed hybrid single molecule approach, here we report how the structural dynamics of DNA in the nucleosome is altered upon acetylation at histone H3 lysine 56 (H3K56) that is critical for elevated DNA accessibility. Our results indicate that H3K56 acetylation facilitates the structural dynamics of the DNA at the nucleosome termini that spontaneously and repeatedly open and close on a ms time scale. The results support a molecular mechanism of histone acetylation in catalyzing DNA unpacking whose efficiency is ultimately limited by the spontaneous DNA dynamics at the nucleosome temini. This study provides the first and unique experimental evidence revealing a role of protein chemical modification in directly regulating the kinetic stability of the DNA packing unit.

Intrinsically disordered proteins: emerging interaction specialists

Intrinsically disordered proteins or regions of proteins (IDPs/IDRs) most often function through protein-protein interactions, when they permanently or transiently bind partner molecules with diverse functional consequences. There is a rapid advance in our understanding of the ensuing functional modes, obtained from describing atomic details of individual complexes, proteome-wide studies of interactomes and characterizing loosely assembled hydrogels and tightly packed amyloids. Here we briefly survey the most important recent methodological developments and structural-functional observations, with the aim of increasing the general appreciation of IDPs/IDRs as 'interaction specialists'.

Rapid Histone-Catalyzed DNA Lesion Excision and Accompanying Protein Modification in Nucleosomes and Nucleosome Core Particles

C5'-Hydrogen atoms are frequently abstracted during DNA oxidation. The oxidized abasic lesion 5'-(2-phosphoryl-1,4-dioxobutane) (DOB) is an electrophilic product of the C5'-radical. DOB is a potent irreversible inhibitor of DNA polymerase β, and forms interstrand cross-links in free DNA. We examined the reactivity of DOB within nucleosomes and nucleosome core particles (NCPs), the monomeric component of chromatin. Depending upon the position at which DOB is generated within a NCP, it is excised from nucleosomal DNA at a rate 275-1500-fold faster than that in free DNA. The half-life of DOB (7.0-16.8 min) in NCPs is shorter than any other abasic lesion. DOB's lifetime in NCPs is also significantly shorter than the estimated lifetime of an abasic site within a cell, suggesting that the observed chemistry would occur intracellularly. Histones also catalyze DOB excision when the lesion is present in the DNA linker region of a nucleosome. Schiff-base formation between DOB and histone proteins is detected in nucleosomes and NCPs, resulting in pyrrolone formation at the lysine residues. The lysines modified by DOB are often post-translationally modified. Consequently, the histone modifications described herein could affect the regulation of gene expression and may provide a chemical basis for the cytotoxicity of the DNA damaging agents that produce this lesion.