Solution structures of the N-terminal domain of histone H4

Is the H4 histone tail intrinsically disordered or intrinsically multifunctional?

The structural versatility of histone tails is one of the key elements in the organisation of chromatin, which allows for the compact storage of genomic information. However, this structural diversity also complicates experimental and computational studies. Here, the potential and free energy landscape for the isolated and bound H4 histone tail are explored. The landscapes exhibit a set of distinct structural ensembles separated by high energy barriers, with little difference between isolated and bound tails. This consistency is a desirable feature that facilitates the formation of transient interactions, which are required for the liquid-like chromatin organisation. The existence of multiple, distinct structures on a multifunnel energy landscape is likely to be associated with multifunctionality, i.e. a set of evolved, distinct functions. Contrasting it with previously reported results for other disordered peptides, this type of landscape may be associated with a conformational selection based binding mechanism. Given the similarity to other systems exhibiting similar multifunnel energy landscapes, the disorder in histone tails might be better described in context of multifunctionality.

The origin of chromosomal histones in a 30S ribosomal protein

Histones are genes that regulate chromatin structure. They are present in both eukaryotes and archaea, and form nucleosomes with DNA, but their exact evolutionary origins have hitherto remained a mystery. A longstanding hypothesis is that they have precursors in ribosomal proteins with whom they share much in common in terms of size and chemistry. By examining the proteome of the Asgard archaeon, Lokiarchaeum, the most conserved of all the histones, H4, is found to plausibly be homologous with one of its 30S ribosomal proteins, RPS6. This is based on both sequence identity and statistical analysis. The N-terminal tail, containing key sites involved in post-translational modifications, is notably present in the precursor gene. Although other archaeal groups possess similar homologs, these are not as close to H4 as the one found in Lokiarchaeum. The other core histones, H2A, H2B and H3, appear to have also evolved from the same ribosomal protein. Parts of H4 are also similar to another ribosomal protein, namely RPS15, suggesting that the ancestral precursor could have resembled both. Eukaryotic histones, in addition, appear to have an independent origin to that of their archaeal counterparts that evolved from similar, but still different, 30S subunit proteins, some of which are much more like histones in terms of their physical structure. The nucleosome may, therefore, be not only of archaeal but also of ribosomal origin.

Chromatin Unfolding by Epigenetic Modifications Explained by Dramatic Impairment of Internucleosome Interactions: A Multiscale Computational Study

Histone tails and their epigenetic modifications play crucial roles in gene expression regulation by altering the architecture of chromatin. However, the structural mechanisms by which histone tails influence the interconversion between active and inactive chromatin remain unknown. Given the technical challenges in obtaining detailed experimental characterizations of the structure of chromatin, multiscale computations offer a promising alternative to model the effect of histone tails on chromatin folding. Here we combine multimicrosecond atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of dinucleosomes and histone tails in explicit solvent and ions, performed with three different state-of-the-art force fields and validated by experimental NMR measurements, with coarse-grained Monte Carlo simulations of 24-nucleosome arrays to describe the conformational landscape of histone tails, their roles in chromatin compaction, and the impact of lysine acetylation, a widespread epigenetic change, on both. We find that while the wild-type tails are highly flexible and disordered, the dramatic increase of secondary-structure order by lysine acetylation unfolds chromatin by decreasing tail availability for crucial fiber-compacting internucleosome interactions. This molecular level description of the effect of histone tails and their charge modifications on chromatin folding explains the sequence sensitivity and underscores the delicate connection between local and global structural and functional effects. Our approach also opens new avenues for multiscale processes of biomolecular complexes.

Secondary structures of the core histone N-terminal tails: their role in regulating chromatin structure

The core histone N-terminal tails dissociate from their binding positions in nucleosomes at moderate salt concentrations, and appear unstructured in the crystal. This suggested that the tails contributed minimally to chromatin structure. However, in vitro studies have shown that the tails were involved in a range of intra- and inter-nucleosomal as well as inter-fibre contacts. The H4 tail, which is essential for chromatin compaction, was shown to contact an adjacent nucleosome in the crystal. Acetylation of H4K16 was shown to abolish the ability of a nucleosome array to fold into a 30 nm fibre. The application of secondary structure prediction software has suggested the presence of extended structured regions in the histone tails. Molecular Dynamics studies have further shown that sections of the H3 and H4 tails assumed α-helical and β-strand content that was enhanced by the presence of DNA, and that post-translational modifications of the tails had a major impact on these structures. Circular dichroism and NMR showed that the H3 and H4 tails exhibited significant α-helical content, that was increased by acetylation of the tail. There is thus strong evidence, both from biophysical and from computational approaches, that the core histones tails, particularly that of H3 and H4, are structured, and that these structures are influenced by post-translational modifications. This chapter reviews studies on the position, binding sites and secondary structures of the core histone tails, and discusses the possible role of the histone tail structures in the regulation of chromatin organization, and its impact on human disease.

Structural basis for substrate specificity and catalysis of human histone acetyltransferase 1

Histone acetyltransferase 1 is the founding member of the histone acetyltransferase superfamily and catalyzes lysine acetylation of newly synthesized histone H4. Here we report a 1.9-Å resolution crystal structure of human histone acetyltransferase 1 in complex with acetyl coenzyme A and histone H4 peptide. The crystal structure reveals that the cofactor and the side chain of lysine 12 of histone H4 peptide are placed in the canyon between the central and C-terminal domains. Histone H4 peptide adopts a well-defined conformation and establishes an extensive set of interactions with the enzyme including invariant residues Glu64 and Trp199, which together govern substrate-binding specificity of histone acetyltransferase 1. Our structure-guided enzyme kinetic study further demonstrates a cumulative effect of the active-site residues Glu187, Glu276, and Asp277 on deprotonation of the ε-amino group of reactive Lys12 for direct attack of the acetyl group of the cofactor.

NMR-based detection of acetylation sites in peptides

Acetylation of histone tails as well as non-histone proteins was found to be a major component of the 'chromatin code' that regulates transcription through the recruitment of transcription factors, co-regulators and DNA-binding proteins. Acetylation can have several effects modifying protein-protein interactions, protein activity, localization and stability. Using NMR spectroscopy, we provide a simple way to detect acetyl moieties at the epsilon-amino function of lysine residues based on peptides derived from Histone H4 and TDG amino-terminal domains. Significant changes of acetyl-lysine resonances as compared to non-acetylated residues allow a direct identification of specific acetylated lysine. We also show that, in unfolded peptides, acetylation of lysine side chains leads to characteristic NMR signals that vary only weakly depending on the primary sequence or the total number of acetylated sites, indicating that the acetamide group does not establish any interactions with other residues. Furthermore, resonance changes upon acetylation are restricted to residues nearby the acetylation site, indicating that acetylation does not modify the overall peptide conformation.