The ChIP-exo Method: Identifying Protein-DNA Interactions with Near Base Pair Precision

The overall goal of this functional genomic technology is to identify the precise genomic locations that a given protein occupies in living cells. This method can help answer key questions in the fields of gene regulation and epigenetics such as how the transcription machinery assembles and operates in the context of chromatin. The main advantage of this technique is it reveals the exact genomic location for protein DNA interactions at near-base pre-resolution with exceptionally low background.

Generally, individuals new to this method will struggle because the protocol is complex and requires attention to detail throughout. To sonicate nuclear lysates, begin by placing resin adapters in 15 milliliter polystyrene tubes containing nuclear extracts. Sonicate the lysates in an ice cold water bath at medium power for 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off for a total of two 15-minute sessions.

To check sonication results, transfer two 10 microliter samples from each tube into 1.5 milliliter tubes. Then reverse crosslinks by combining the first 10 microliter sample with 10 microliters of TE-RNase A and 0.2 microliters of proteinase K.Incubate the tube at 37 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. Then add four microliters of 6X xylene DNA dye.

To the second 10 microliter sample, preserve crosslinks by adding two microliters of 6X xylene DNA dye. Run both samples on a 1.5%agarose gel at 140 volts for approximately 30 to 45 minutes until the bromophenol dye in the latter is three-quarters of the way down the gel. If sonication was successful, transfer sonicated lysates to two milliliter tubes containing 150 microliters of 10%Triton X-100 and vortex to mix.

Pellet the insoluble chromatin and debris by spinning the sonicated lysates at 20, 000 times g at four degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. Then transfer the supernatants to new two milliliter tubes. Store the samples at negative 80 degrees Celsius indefinitely.

For each chromatin immunoprecipitation or ChIP reaction, combine 1.5 milliliters of sonicated extracts with antibody bead conjugates in 1.5 milliliter tubes. Incubate the tubes on a mini tube rotator at a speed of nine at four degrees Celsius overnight. Check after a few minutes to ensure samples are not leaking and are mixing properly.

The following day, very briefly spin down the tubes to collect the liquid in the caps and place the tubes on a magnetic rack for one minute. Then aspirate the extract. Add 0.75 milliliters of RIPA buffer to each tube.

Then remove the tubes from the magnetic rack and invert them several times to mix. After a brief spin, place the tubes back on the magnet and aspirate the supernatant. Following the last wash, add 0.75 milliliters of 10 millimolar Tris HCL to each tube.

Remove the tubes from the magnetic rack and invert the samples several times to mix. After a brief spin, place the tubes back on the rack and aspirate the supernatant. After carrying out the polishing and detailing reactions according to the text protocol, fill out the ligation master mix calculations.

Then make the ligation mix in a 1.5 milliliter tube on ice and pipette to mix the solution. With the sample tubes on the magnetic rack, add 48 microliters of P7 ligation master mix and two microliters of a different adapter index to each of the sample resins. Incubate the samples in a ThermoMixer at three times g in 25 degrees Celsius for two hours.

After washing the samples and performing the Phy 29 nick repair and kinase reactions according to the text protocol, fill out the lambda exonuclease master mix calculations and make the lambda exonuclease mix in a 1.5 milliliter tube on ice. Add 50 microliters of lambda exonuclease mix to each sample resin while still on the magnetic rack. Then incubate the samples in a ThermoMixer at three times g in 37 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.

After aspirating the last wash as described in the text protocol, carry out RecJf nuclease reaction by filling out the RecJf master mix calculations and making the RecJf mix on ice. Add 50 microliters of the RecJf mix to each sample resin on the magnetic rack. Then incubate the samples in a ThermoMixer at three times g in 37 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.

After aspirating the last wash, prepare the ChIP elution buffer and proteinase K master mix and add 200 microliters of the solution to each sample resin. Incubate the samples in a ThermoMixer at three times g in 65 degrees Celsius overnight with a heated lid to prevent condensation. The following day, briefly spin the samples and place the tubes on the magnetic rack for one minute.

Then transfer 200 microliters of supernatant to a new 1.5 milliliter tube containing 200 microliters of TE buffer. Following DNA extraction, P7 primary extension and ATL reactions, fill out the P5 adapter ligation table master mix calculations and make the ligation master mix on ice. Add 20 microliters of the ligation mix to each sample and pipette to mix.

Then incubate the samples in a thermal cycler at 25 degrees Celsius for two hours. Carry out DNA purification and quantification according to the text protocol. As shown here, it is worth spending time to optimize sonication conditions to obtain high-quality chromatin extracts that yield DNA fragments between 100 to 500 base pairs.

And electrophoretic mobility shift assay is used to verify that the sonicated extracts contain intact protein DNA crosslinks, evident as a super shift of DNA fragments. To assess background signal, a mock ChIP is routinely performed without antibody in the reaction. A high-quality ChIP exo-library will yield very little background in the mock sample compared to a ChIP-seq library preparation.

Shown here is a bioanalyzer assessment of a ChIP-exo library. Analysis accurately ensures the library size distribution and detects contaminating adapter dimers that run at 125 base pairs. This panel illustrates the smooth distribution of strand-separated ChIP-exo tag five prime Ns for polymerase II, TFIIB and TBP at the human RPS12 gene in proliferating K562 cells.

Shown in this figure are average ChIP-exo patterns relative to the transcriptional start sites of protein coding genes. The major peak locations for TBP, TFIIB and polymerase II in the composite plot reflect the genomic organization of human transcription initiation complexes. Once mastered, this technique can be done in four days if performed properly.

After its development, this technique paved the way for researchers in the field of gene regulation to explore molecular details of subnuclear structure in assymetry in yeast. Following this procedure, other methods like RNase seek expression profiling can be performed to address questions such as whether a given factor influences the expression of a nearby gene. While attempting this procedure, it’s important to remember to carefully fill out master mix tables for all enzymatic steps.

Don’t forget, working with carcinogens and other caustic agents can be extremely hazardous and precautions such as wearing personal protective equipment should always be taken while performing this procedure. After this watching video, you should have a good understanding of how to prepare a high-quality ChIP-exo library.