A Cell Free Assay to Study Chromatin Decondensation at the End of Mitosis

Summary

The molecular mechanisms of the decondensation of highly compacted mitotic chromatin are ill-defined. We present a cell-free assay based on mitotic chromatin clusters isolated from HeLa cells and Xenopus laevis egg extract that faithfully reconstitutes the decondensation process in vitro.

Abstract

During the vertebrate cell cycle chromatin undergoes extensive structural and functional changes. Upon mitotic entry, it massively condenses into rod shaped chromosomes which are moved individually by the mitotic spindle apparatus. Mitotic chromatin condensation yields chromosomes compacted fifty-fold denser as in interphase. During exit from mitosis, chromosomes have to re-establish their functional interphase state, which is enclosed by a nuclear envelope and is competent for replication and transcription. The decondensation process is morphologically well described, but in molecular terms poorly understood: We lack knowledge about the underlying molecular events and to a large extent the factors involved as well as their regulation. We describe here a cell-free system that faithfully recapitulates chromatin decondensation in vitro, based on mitotic chromatin clusters purified from synchronized HeLa cells and X. laevis egg extract. Our cell-free system provides an important tool for further molecular characterization of chromatin decondensation and its co-ordination with processes simultaneously occurring during mitotic exit such as nuclear envelope and pore complex re-assembly.

Introduction

Xenopus laevis egg extract is a powerful and widely applied tool to study complicated cellular events in the simplicity of a cell-free assay. Since their first description by Lohka & Masui ¹ they have been extensively used to study mitotic processes such as chromatin condensation ², spindle assembly ³, nuclear envelope breakdown ⁴, but also nucleocytoplasmic transport ⁵ or DNA replication ⁶. The events taking place at the end of mitosis, necessary for reformation of the interphasic nucleus such as nuclear envelope reformation and nuclear pore complex reassembly are much less understood comp....

Protocol

Mitotic Chromatin Cluster Isolation from HeLa Cells

1. Preparations

1. Cell Culture Solutions
   1. Prepare complete Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) by adding 10% fetal calf serum, 100 units/ml penicillin, 100 µg/ml streptomycin and 2 mM glutamine to the DMEM. Prepare Phosphate buffer saline (PBS) containing 2.7 mM KCl, 137 mM NaCl, 10 mM Na₂HPO₄2H₂O and 2 mM KH₂PO₄ in deionized water, and adjust pH to 7.4 with 10 N NaOH.
      NOTE: PBS can be kept as 10x stock solution over time at RT. Dilute it with deionized ....

Results

Time dependence of the decondensation reaction

Figure 1 shows a typical time course of the decondensation assay. The cluster of chromosomes visible at the beginning of the reaction decondenses and merges into a single, round and smooth nucleus. When the egg extract is replaced by sucrose buffer the chromosome cluster remains condensed, which suggest that decondensation activity is present in the egg extract.

Chromatin decondensation is an energy dep.......

Discussion

Xenopus laevis egg extracts are a very useful tool to faithfully reproduce cellular processes in vitro, and this system was successfully used in the characterization of cell cycle and cell division events ^2,3,5,6,17. Due to large stores of nuclear components sequestered in the egg during oogenesis, egg extracts are an excellent source of cellular components. Compared to other approaches like RNAi on mammalian tissue cell lines or genetic manipulation, it offers several advantages: .......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
spermine tetrahydrochloride	Fluka analytical	85610-25G
spermidine trihydrochloride	Sigma	S2501-5G
high-purity digitonin	Millipore	300410-1GM	toxic
PMSF	Applichem	A0999,0100	toxic
thymidine	Calbiochem	6060
nocodazole	Calbiochem	487928	toxic
37% formaldehyde solution	Roth	7398-1	toxic
trypan blue solution (0.4%)	Sigma	T8154	toxic
1,4-dithiothreitol (DTT)	Roth	6908.2
AEBSF hydrochloride	Applichem	A1421,0001
pepstatin	Roth	2936.1/2/3
leupeptin	Roth	CN334
aprotinin	Roth	A162.3
Percoll (colloidal silica particles solution)	GE Healthcare	17-0891-01
glutamine	Gibco	25030-024
Penicillin-Streptomycin	Gibco	15140-122
75 cm² tissue culture flasks	Greiner Bio-one	658175
heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum (FBS)	Gibco	10500-064
Homogenizer (40 ml tissue grinder)	Wheaton	357546
Neubauer chamber	Assistent	441/1
Oak Ridge Centrifuge Tubes, polycarbonate (50 ml)	Nalgene	3118-0050
100 µm cell strainer, nylon	BD Falcon	352360
cytochalasin B	Applichem	A7657,0010	toxic
cycloheximide	Roth	8682.3	toxic
L-cystein	Merck	1,028,381,000
hCG available as Ovogest	MSD	1431593
PMSG available as Intergonan	MSD	1431015
A23187 (mixed calcium-magnesium-salt)	Enzo	ALX-450-002-M010	toxic
syringe needles (1.20 x 40 mm, 18 G x 1 1/2")	Braun	4665120
ATP	Serva	10920.03
GTP, 2 Na x 3 H20	Roth	K056.1/2/3/4
creatine phosphat disodium salt	Calbiochem	2380
creatine phosphokinase	Sigma	C3755-35KU
DMAP	Sigma	D2629-1G
DAPI	Roche	10236276001
PFA	Sigma	P-6148	toxic
centrifugation tubes for TLA 100 (7 x 10 mm, 5/16 x 13/16 in.)	Beckman Coulter	343775
"Cell-Saver" (tips with wide opening, 1,000 µl)	Biozym	729065
50% glutaraldehyde solution, grade I	Sigma alderich	G7651-10 ml	toxic
0.1% (w/v) poly-L-lysine solution	Sigma	P8920-100 ml
flat-bottom tubes (6 ml, 16.0/55 mm)	Greiner Bio-one	145211
Vectashield mounting medium	Vector laboratories	H1000
tubes for TLA120 (11 x 34 mm, 7/16 x 1 3/8 in.)	Beckman Coulter	343778
"Cell-Saver" (tips with wide opening, 200 µl)	Biozym	729055
12 mm coverslips	Thermo Scientific	0784 #1