The nucleosome fold is the basic structural and functional unit of the chromatin, the complex between DNA, proteins and RNA, and consists of approximately 180 base pairs of DNA wrapped around an octameric complex of core histones 2(H2A, H2B, H3, H4) and linker histone H1. The DNA array codifies the primary structure of the proteins, and at the same time a variety of proteins, for instance the histones, regulate the DNA-template processes through a variety of mechanisms, which do not change the genetic code and in some cases can be inherited. Such inheritable changes in gene function and expression that do not involve changes in the DNA nucleotide sequence are commonly known as "epigenetic". It is thought that the combination of covalent histone modifications might generate a sort of "histone code" through which the cell could sensor its external and internal environmental status ('environmental sensor').
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Publications
Rodriguez-Collazo P, Leuba SH, Zlatanova J. Robust methods for purification of histones from cultured mammalian cells with the preservation of their native modifications.Nucleic Acids Res. 2009 37:e81. Epub 2009 May 13.PMID:
19443446
Rodriguez-Collazo, P., Snyder, S.K., Chiffer R. C., Zlatanova, J., Leuba, S. H., and Smith, C.L. (2008) cAMP Signaling Induces Rapid Loss of Histone H3 Phosphorylation in Mammary Adenocarcinoma-Derived Cell Lines. Exp Cell Res. 314(1):1-10.
Rodriguez, P., Ruis, M., Price, G. B., and Zannis-Hadjopoulos, M. (2004) NAP-2 is part of multi-protein complexes in HeLa cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 93, 398-408.
Rodriguez, P., Pelletier, J., Price, G. B., and Zannis-Hadjopoulos, M. (2000) NAP-2: Histone chaperone function and phosphorylation status through the cell cycle. J. Mol. Biol. 298, 225-238.
Rodriguez, P., Munroe, D., Prawitt, D., Chu, L. L., Bric, E., Kim, J., Reid, L. H., Davies, C., Nakagama, H., Loebbert, R., Winterpacht, A., Petruzzi, M-J., Higgins, M. J., Nowak, N., Evans, G., Shows, T., Weissman, B. E., Zabel, B., Housman, D. E. and Pelletier, J. (1997) Functional characterization of human nucleosome assembly protein-2 (NAP1L4) suggests a role as a histone chaperone. Genomics 44. 253-265
Fernandez-Patron, C., Castellanos-Serra, L., and Rodriguez, P. (1992) Reverse staining of sodium dodecylsulphate polyacrylamide gels by imidazole-zinc salts: sensitive detection of unmodified proteins. Biotechniques, 12 564-573.
