Fluid shear stress-modulated chromatin accessibility reveals the mechano-dependency of endothelial SMAD1/5-mediated gene transcription

Protocol for chromatin accessibility profiling of human endothelial cells cultured under fluid shear stress using ATAC-seq

Chromatin accessibility influences gene regulation and can be quantified using assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (ATAC-seq). Recapitulating in vivo fluid shear stress (FSS) mechano-regimes in vitro allows the study of atheroprone and atheroprotective mechanisms. In this protocol, we show how to culture and harvest endothelial cells from microfluidic channels for the preparation of ATAC-seq, highlighting optional growth factor stimulation and different FSS rates. This extends the application of ATAC-seq to the analysis of in vitro mechanically stimulated cells. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Jatzlau et al.1.