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Background: Histone H1 is an important constituent of chromatin, and is involved in regulation of its structure. During the cell cycle, chromatin becomes locally decondensed in S phase, highly condensed during metaphase, and again decondensed before re-entry into G(1). This has been connected to increasing phosphorylation of H1 histones through the cell cycle. However, many of these experiments have been performed using cell-synchronization techniques and cell cycle-arresting drugs. In this study, we investigated the H1 subtype composition and phosphorylation pattern in the cell cycle of normal human activated T cells and Jurkat T-lymphoblastoid cells by capillary electrophoresis after sorting of exponentially growing cells into G(1), S and G(2)/M populations. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanResults: We found that the relative amount of H1.5 protein increased significantly after T-cell activation. Serine phosphorylation of H1 subtypes occurred to a large extent in late G(1) or early S phase in both activated T cells and Jurkat cells. Furthermore, our data confirm that the H1 molecules newly synthesized during S phase achieve a similar phosphorylation pattern to the previous ones. Jurkat cells had more extended H1.5 phosphorylation in G(1) compared with T cells, a difference that can be explained by faster cell growth and/or the presence of enhanced H1 kinase activity in G(1) in Jurkat cells. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanConclusion: Our data are consistent with a model in which a major part of interphase H1 phosphorylation takes place in G(1) or early S phase. This implies that H1 serine phosphorylation may be coupled to changes in chromatin structure necessary for DNA replication. In addition, the increased H1 phosphorylation of malignant cells in G(1) may be affecting the G(1)/S transition control and enabling facilitated S-phase entry as a result of relaxed chromatin condensation. Furthermore, increased H1.5 expression may be coupl, Funding Agencies|Austrian Science Foundation| I23-B03 |EC Sixth Framework Programme| ERAS-CT-2003-980409 |Swedish Cancer Society

Histone H1 is an important constituent of chromatin which undergoes major structural rearrangements during mitosis. However, the role of H1, multiple H1 subtypes and H1 phosphorylation is still unclear. In normal human fibroblasts, phosphorylated H1 was found located in nuclei during prophase and in both cytoplasm and condensed chromosomes during metaphase, anaphase and telophase as detected by immunocytochemistry. Moreover, we detected remarkable differences in the distribution of the histone H1 subtypes H1.2, H1.3 and H1.5 during mitosis. H1.2 was found in chromatin during prophase, and almost solely in the cytoplasm of metaphase and early anaphase cells. In late anaphase it appeared in both chromatin and cytoplasm, and again in chromatin during telophase. H1.5 distribution pattern resembled that of H1.2, but some H1.5 remained situated in chromatin during metaphase and early anaphase. H1.3 was detected in chromatin in all cell cycle phases. We propose therefore, that H1 subtype translocation during mitosis is controlled by phosphorylation, in combination with H1 subtype inherent affinity. We conclude that H1 subtypes, or their phosphorylated variants, may be signalling molecules in mitosis or that they leave chromatin in a regulated way to give access for chromatin condensing factors or transcriptional regulators during mitosis.

The binding behavior of the DNA binding dyes 7-aminoactinomycin D (7-AAMD) and 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) to human neutrophilic granulocytes and lymphocytes was studied by image cytofluorometry. Peripheral blood leukocytes were prefixed in paraformaldehyde (PFA) and attached to cover glasses. Different fixation, permeabilization, and acid extraction methods were applied before the cells were stained to equilibrium using varying concentrations of 7-AAMD or DAPI. The apparent association constant and number of high affinity dye binding sites were estimated for the different cell types, dyes, and treatments. Acid extracted cells, supposedly containing nucleosome-free DNA, were chosen to represent maximal dye binding. Only about 10% of the 7-AAMD binding sites remained in the unextracted PFA-fixed cells, and the apparent dye affinity was also reduced. We found no major difference in high affinity binding between the cell types, but granulocytes showed more fluorescence from less specifically bound 7-AAMD compared to lymphocytes. DAPI had a much higher affinity than 7-AAMD, independent of the preparation method. It showed a cooperative binding behavior with an apparent saturation of the high affinity binding sites at a dye concentration of about 50 nM. We conclude that both dyes may be useful as probes for chromatin structure in intact cells and that our new technique may contribute to such studies since it allows determination of dye affinities and numbers of high affinity binding sites in situ.

Histone H1 is an important constituent of chromatin, and is believed to be involved in regulation of chromatin structure. During the cell cycle, chromatin becomes locally decondensed in S phase, highly condensed during metaphase and again decondensed before re-entry into G1. This has been connected to increasing phosphorylation of H1 histones during the cell cycle. However, many of these experiments have been performed in non-human and human cancer cell lines, and by the use of cell synchronization techniques and cell cycle-arresting drugs. In this study, we have investigated the H1 subtype composition and phosphorylation pattern in the cell cycle. Exponentially growing normal human activated T cells and Jurkat lymphoblastoid cells were sorted by fluorescence activated cell sorting into G1, S and G2/M populations, without the use of cell cycle arresting drugs. We found that the H1.5 protein level increased after T-cell activation. Our data indicate that serine phosphorylation of H1 subtypes occurred to a large extent in late G1 phase or early S, while some additional serine phosphorylation took place during S, G2 and M phases. Furthermore, our data suggest that the newly synthesized H1 molecules during S phase also achieve a similar phosphorylation pattern as the previous ones. Jurkat cells showed more extended H1.5 phosphorylation in G1 compared with T cells, a difference that can be explained by faster cell growth and/or the presence of enhanced H1 kinase activity in G1 in Jurkat cells. In conclusion, our data is consistent with a model where a major part of interphase H1 serine phosphorylation takes place within a narrow time window during the G1/Stransition. This implies that H1 serine phosphorylation may be coupled to changes in chromatin structure necessary for DNA replication.