The histone variant H2A.Z is an essential protein that exists in two very close isoforms, H2A.Z-1 and H2A.Z-2. Active promoters are enriched in positioned H2A.Z nucleosomes and the current view is that H2A.Z is implicated in transcriptional regulation. However, the reported data have mainly correlative character. In addition, no in vivo data on the implication of H2A.Z in the control of transcription are available. Here we have addressed this problem by using double cKO mouse lines. We have depleted both H2A.Z isoforms in innervated and denervated skeletal leg muscles and have analyzed the effects of H2A.Z depletion on transcription of both gene and repetitive DNA elements. Our data show that the absence of H2A.Z in the post-mitotic skeletal muscle cells affected genome-wide neither basal nor activated transcription and had no effect on transcription of repetitive DNA elements. These data were supported by experiments in confluent mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) where H2A.Z was depleted by genetic approaches. Our experiments suggest that the enrichment of H2A.Z on active promoters reflects the higher histone turnover and the availability of H2A.Z protein during the whole cell cycle. SOURCE: Christophe Papin (papin@igbmc.fr) -  IGBMC - CNRS UMR 7104 - Inserm U 964

Pluto Bioinformatics

GSE111573: The absence of H2A.Z does not affect both basal and activated transcription in post-mitotic muscle cells in vivo [RNA-Seq - muscle]