Replication variants of the human inactive X chromosome. II. Frequency and replication rate relative to the other chromosomes of the complement

X-inactivation in girls with Rett syndrome

Cytogenetic studies have been carried out on a series of nine girls with Rett syndrome, six of their mothers and nine normal female controls. No abnormality of the X-chromosome has been observed in any subject. X-inactivation studies using various methods of detecting the timing of individual band replication were performed. The overall pattern seen was essentially the same in all subjects, but in the patients with Rett syndrome there may be an alteration in the timing of the X-inactivation process in the region Xp11.3 or 4-->Xp21.

Replication of the heterogeneous heterochromatin of the sex chromosomes of Microtus cabrerae

We used bromosubstitution to investigate the mode of replication of different types of heterochromatin located in the sex chromosomes of Microtus cabrerae. Our results clearly show that, although the heterochromatin is late replicating, the replication timing of different types of constitutive heterochromatin is related to their banding properties: R-type heterochromatin replicates before G-type heterochromatin, and this replication is asynchronous in both sex chromosomes. Furthermore, the late replication behaviour of the inactive X may spread to its constitutive heterochromatin. In some cells, a region of the constitutive heterochromatin of the late replicating X spontaneously switches to early replication, which may be related to transcriptional activity. Replication behaviour of the constitutive heterochromatin in the Y chromosome is similar to that of the late replicating X.

Replication asynchrony between homologs 15q11.2: cytogenetic evidence for genomic imprinting

Replication kinetics of the Prader-Willi syndrome critical region (15q11.2) was investigated in seven normal healthy adult females using RBG replication bands. Replication asynchrony between homologs 15q11.2 was identified consistently in about 40% of cells in all individuals. It was limited to the stages in which Xp22, Xp11, Xq13 and Xq24/26 were visible in the late-replicating X chromosome. This asynchrony suggested that replication timing overlapped between 15q11.2 and the early replicating R-bands of the late X chromosome in some cells, and that the difference in replication timing between homologs was probably related to genomic imprinting; the latter has been suggested as a pathogenetic basis of Prader-Willi syndrome. As a result of an analysis of the proportions of asynchronous and synchronous cells in each replication stage, two types of cells were deduced providing 1:1 methylation mosaicism of genomic imprinting was assumed. The first type was composed of cells with normal replication in one homolog and delayed replication in the other. The second type was composed of cells with normal replication in both homologs. Our results provide cytogenetic evidence of methylation mosaicism for mammalian genomic imprinting.

Analysis of DNA replication during S-phase by means of dynamic chromosome banding at high resolution

The characteristic patterns of dynamic banding (replication banding) were analysed. Extremely high resolution (850 to 1,250 bands per genome) G- and R-band patterns were obtained after 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdUrd) incorporation either during the early or the late S-phase. We synchronized human lymphocytes with high concentrations of thymidine or BrdUrd as blocking agents, followed by low concentrations of BrdUrd or thymidine respectively as releasing agents, and obtained R- or G-band patterns respectively. The dynamic R- and G-band patterns were complementary for all chromosomes, even for the late-replicating X chromosome. There was no overlapping and every part of each chromosome was positively stained by one of the two banding procedures. The complementarity of the two patterns shows that both high thymidine and high BrdUrd concentrations blocked S-phase progression near the R-band to G-band replication transition in the middle of S-phase. Some bands of the inactive X chromosome replicate before this transition concurrently with R-band replication. The 48 different telomeric regions could be classified into 5 distinct morphotypes based upon the distribution of early and late-replicating DNA in each telomeric region. The dynamic band patterns are particularly useful for the study of the structural and physiological organization of chromosomes at high resolution and should prove invaluable for assessing the replication behavior of rearranged chromosomes.

Asynchronous replication of homologous loci on human active and inactive X chromosomes

The two X chromosomes in mammalian females replicate asynchronously, the inactive later than the active one. Using BrdUrd-sensitive restriction and UV irradiation to identify newly synthesized DNA directly on Southern blots, and restriction fragment length differences to discriminate alleles on active and inactive human X chromosomes, we examined the replication of hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) and clotting factor IX (F9) loci in clonal populations of mouse-human hybrids. We find that HPRT replicates at different times during the period of DNA synthesis (S phase), depending on its activity: It replicates in early S phase, when expressed (on the active X chromosome), and in late S phase when silent (on the inactive X chromosome). Furthermore, when reactivated, the derepressed locus is earlier replicating, supporting a relationship between replication and transcription. Neither F9 allele is expressed in these cells, and both replicate in the second half of S phase, (slightly earlier on active than on inactive X chromosome).

Sequence of DNA replication in Macaca fuscata chromosomes: an outgroup for phylogenetic comparison between man and apes

The relative replication times of every band in the standardized 300 band G-band idiogram of the chromosomes of the Japanese macaque are presented, and compared to the human sequence. Many chromosomes thought to be homologous between Macaca fuscata and man on the basis of standard chromosome banding and gene mapping show a conservation of the replication sequence. Other supposed chromosomal homologies between these two species show no good correspondence, and the replication sequence data suggest that these chromosomes have been subject to complex rearrangements. The replication sequence data also point to possible additional chromosomal homologies between man and M. fuscata. Asynchrony in replication time between homologues from the same cell may also be evolutionarily conserved, because these species share a number of asynchronous homologous bands. Replication band sequence data can provide significant information for comparative cytogenetics. However, usually only the full replication R- or G-band pattern has been used for interspecific comparisons. The dynamic sequence data presented here determine the replication time of every band in the karyotype, and provide a quantitatively and qualitatively more sensitive tool to characterize chromosomes. Such data could provide valuable new information on which to make phylogenetic reconstructions, and shed light on the relationship between chromosome change and evolutionary process. Finally, the M. fuscata replication sequence presented here will provide a necessary foundation for future comparisons between apes and man.

How does inactivation change timing of replication in the human X chromosome?

The kinetics of replication of the inactive (late replicating) X chromosome (LRX) were studied in karyotypically normal lymphocytes and human amniotic fluid cells. Both cell types were successively pulse labeled with 1-h or 1/2-h thymidine pulses in an otherwise BrdU-substituted S phase after partial synchronization of the cultures at G1/S. For the first time with this technique, the entire sequence of replication was analyzed for the LRX from the beginning to the end of the S phase, with special reference to mid S (R-band to G-band transition replication). The inactive X is the last chromosome of the metaphase to start replication, with a delay of 1 or 2 h, after which time a thymidine pulse results in R-type patterns. In mid S, the inactive X is the first chromosome to switch to G-type replication (without overlapping of both types and without any detectable replication pause). Until the end of S, a thymidine pulse results in G-type patterns. To rule out artifacts that might arise by the synchronization of cultures in these experiments, controls were carried out with BrdU pulses and the BrdU antibody technique without synchronization. In the course of replication, no fundamental difference was seen between the two different cell types examined. In contrast to studies using continuous labeling, this study did not reveal an interindividual difference of replication kinetics in the LRXs of the seven individuals studied; thus it is concluded that the inactive X chromosome shows only one characteristic course of replication.

Replication kinetics of X chromosomes in fibroblasts and lymphocytes

The kinetics of replication for early and late replicating X chromosomes in karyotypically normal fibroblasts and lymphocytes was studied using terminal bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) treatment followed by Hoechst/light/Giemsa staining. Although the order of band appearance differs between the two tissues, the programme (order and interval between band appearances) for early replicating bands (dark R-bands) is identical in the two homologues. This is probably also the case for later replicating bands (dark G-bands) though the criteria for determining mean band appearance times are less reliable for these bands when terminal BrdU treatment is used. This means that the late X has a delayed start but thereafter proceeds at the same pace as its early counterpart.

Alterations in the X chromosome replication pattern induced by 5-azacytidine in a human tumor line

Biochemical studies have shown that the cytosine analog, 5-azacytidine (5-azaC), induces hypomethylation and reactivates specific X-linked genes. Cytogenetically, it has been shown that this hypomethylating agent alters the replication pattern of the late-replicating, inactive X chromosome. In order to analyze the effect of 5-azaC on the X chromosome replication pattern of tumor cells with multiple X chromosomes, 5-azaC treatment, followed by terminal bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) pulses, was applied to the human breast tumor cell line ZR-75-30. Metaphase spreads were analyzed for the presence of X chromosomes with altered replication banding patterns. Seventy-four percent of the untreated cells contained at least one typical, pale-staining, inactive X chromosome as compared to only 8% of the cells in the treated groups. This demonstrates a dramatic change in the replication pattern of the inactive X chromosome of these neoplastic cells in response to 5-azaC treatment. These results suggest that neoplastic tissue is highly responsive to this hypomethylating agent, which may be related to the high degree of DNA hypomethylation observed in neoplasias.

Characterization of chromosome replication during S-phase with bromodeoxyuridine labelling in Chinese hamster ovary and HeLa cells

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) and HeLa cells were successively pulse labelled at 1-h intervals after the cultures were synchronized at the end of G1 (monitored by flow cytometry). The metaphases analysed afterwards showed R-type replication patterns after 1-h pulses during the early S-phase (SE; from h 1-5 after release) and replication of G- and C-bands in late S-phase (SL: from h 6-8 after release). The transition from SE to SL is abrupt, constituting a sudden switch of replication between different types of chromatin as has been described for human lymphocytes. The differences between these two cell lines and earlier results reported on a V79 Chinese hamster cell line and on normal diploid human and Chinese hamster fibroblasts are discussed.

Evidence for a relationship between DNA methylation and DNA replication from studies of the 5-azacytidine-reactivated allocyclic X chromosome

We examined the sequence of DNA synthesis of the human active, inactive and reactivated X chromosomes in mouse-human hybrid cells. The two independent reactivants, induced by 5-azacytidine (5-azaC), expressed human hypoxanthinephosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT), and one also expressed human glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK). Restriction enzyme analysis of DNA methylation at the re-expressed loci revealed hypomethylation of CpG clusters, that characterizes the relevant genes on the active X. The transfer of active and inactive X chromosomes from the native environment of the human fibroblast to the foreign environment of the hybrid cell did not affect the specific replication sequence of either human X chromosome. The silent X chromosome when reactivated, remained allocyclic, and the first bands to replicate were the same as prior to reactivation. In one reactivant, however, further progression of replication was significantly altered with respect to the order in which bands were synthesized. This alteration in the replication of the silent X following 5-azaC-induced reactivation suggests that DNA methylation may modulate the replication kinetics of chromosomal DNA.