Name: efficient chromatin immunoprecipitation using limiting amounts of biomass
Uploaded: 2013-05-01T13:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Efficient Chromatin Immunoprecipitation using Limiting Amounts of Biomass at JoVE.com

This work was supported by NIH grants CA141009 and GM39067. We thank E. Parnell and R. Yarrington for comments on the written portion.

1. Isolation of Mouse Splenic Na&iuml;ve CD4 T Cells
<ol>
 <li>Sacrifice the mouse in a humane manner consistent with Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocols. Dissect the spleen and place it in Petri dish containing 10 ml of DMEM with 10% FBS.</li>
 <li>Crush the spleen using frosted ends of two glass slides to release the splenocytes. Transfer the cell suspension in a 15 ml conical tube.</li>
 <li>Collect the cells by centrifugation at 200 x g (~1,200 rpm for a clinical centrifuge wit...

<ol>
	<li>Weinmann, A. S., Bartley, S. M., Zhang, T., Zhang, M. Q., Farnham, P. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Use+of+chromatin+immunoprecipitation+to+clone+novel+E2F+target+promoters.">Use of chromatin immunoprecipitation to clone novel E2F target promoters.</a> Molecular and Cellular Biology. 21, 6820-6832 (2001).</li><li>Weinmann, A. S., Farnham, P. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Identification+of+unknown+target+genes+of+human+transcription+factors+using+chromatin+immunoprecipitation.">Identification of unknown target genes of human transcription factors using chromatin immunoprecipitation.</a> Methods. 26, 37-47 (2002).</li><li>Li, Q., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Constitutive+nuclear+localization+of+NFAT+in+Foxp3++regulatory+T+cells+independent+of+calcineurin+activity.">Constitutive nuclear localization of NFAT in Foxp3+ regulatory T cells independent of calcineurin activity.</a> J. Immunol. 188, 4268-4277 (2012).</li><li>Shakya, A., Kang, J., Chumley, J., Williams, M. A., Tantin, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Oct1+is+a+switchable,+bipotential+stabilizer+of+repressed+and+inducible+transcriptional+states.">Oct1 is a switchable, bipotential stabilizer of repressed and inducible transcriptional states.</a> The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 286, 450-459 (2011).</li><li>Dahl, J. A., Collas, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+rapid+micro+chromatin+immunoprecipitation+assay+(microChIP).">A rapid micro chromatin immunoprecipitation assay (microChIP).</a> Nature Protocols. 3, 1032-1045 (2008).</li><li>Lubelsky, Y., Macalpine, H. K., Macalpine, D. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Genome-wide+localization+of+replication+factors.">Genome-wide localization of replication factors.</a> Methods. 57, 187-195 (2012).</li><li>O'Neill, L. P., VerMilyea, M. D., Turner, B. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Epigenetic+characterization+of+the+early+embryo+with+a+chromatin+immunoprecipitation+protocol+applicable+to+small+cell+populations.">Epigenetic characterization of the early embryo with a chromatin immunoprecipitation protocol applicable to small cell populations.</a> Nature Genetics. 38, 835-841 (2006).</li><li>Sikes, M. L., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+streamlined+method+for+rapid+and+sensitive+chromatin+immunoprecipitation.">A streamlined method for rapid and sensitive chromatin immunoprecipitation.</a> Journal of Immunological Methods. 344, 58-63 (2009).</li><li>Rhee, H. S., Pugh, B. F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Comprehensive+genome-wide+protein-DNA+interactions+detected+at+single-nucleotide+resolution.">Comprehensive genome-wide protein-DNA interactions detected at single-nucleotide resolution.</a> Cell. 147, 1408-1419 (2011).</li><li>Rhee, H. S., Pugh, B. F. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Genome-wide+structure+and+organization+of+eukaryotic+pre-initiation+complexes.">Genome-wide structure and organization of eukaryotic pre-initiation complexes.</a> Nature. 483, 295-301 (2012).</li><li>Kharchenko, P. V., Tolstorukov, M. Y., Park, P. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Design+and+analysis+of+ChIP-seq+experiments+for+DNA-binding+proteins.">Design and analysis of ChIP-seq experiments for DNA-binding proteins.</a> Nature Biotechnology. 26, 1351-1359 (2008).</li><li>Robertson, G., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Genome-wide+profiles+of+STAT1+DNA+association+using+chromatin+immunoprecipitation+and+massively+parallel+sequencing.">Genome-wide profiles of STAT1 DNA association using chromatin immunoprecipitation and massively parallel sequencing.</a> Nature Methods. 4, 651-657 (2007).</li></ol>

The protocol above provides a robust method of accurately quantifying DNA enrichment from primary lymphocytes using ChIP. One major reason for robustness in this protocol is the inclusion of biological replicates. The above protocol uses three replicates, the enrichment for which is calculated independently. The outputs are then averaged to provide a degree of enrichment and standard deviations calculated to provide a measure of variability. For each sample, three technical replicates are also performed to elimina...

<table border="1">
 <tbody>
 <tr>
 <td>Name of the reagent</td>
 <td>Company</td>
 <td>Catalog number</td>
 <td>Comments</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Formaldehyde</td>
 <td>Sigma</td>
 <td>F-8775</td>
 <td>Store at RT</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Phosphate Buffered Saline</td>
 <td>Hyclone</td>
 <td>SH30256.01</td>
 <td>Store at 4 &deg;C</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Protease Inhibitor tablets</td>
 <td>Roche</td>
 <td>04693116001</td>
 <td>Store at 4 &deg;C</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Protein G magnetic beads</td>
 <td>Active Motif</td>
 <td>101945</td>
 <td>Store at 4 &deg;C</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>RNase A (20 mg/ml)</td>
 <td>EMD Millipore</td>
 <td>556746</td>
 <td>Store at -20 &deg;C</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Proteinase K (20 mg/ml)</td>
 <td>Roche</td>
 <td>03115879001</td>
 <td>Dissolve in 50 mM Tris-HCl, 10 mM CaCl2, pH 8.0</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Platinum Taq DNA Polymerase</td>
 <td>Invitrogen</td>
 <td>10966-034</td>
 <td>Store at -20 &deg;C</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>SYBR Green I</td>
 <td>Invitrogen</td>
 <td>S7567</td>
 <td>Store at -20 &deg;C</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>1 M Glycine</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Store at RT</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Cell lysis buffer (5 mM Pipes, pH 8.0; 85 mM KCl; 0.5% NP-40)</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Store at 4 &deg;C</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Nuclear lysis buffer (50 mM Tris, pH 8.1; 10 mM EDTA; 1% SDS)</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Store at RT</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>ChIP dilution buffer (0.01% SDS; 1.1% Triton X-100; 1.2 mM EDTA; 16.7 mM Tris pH 8.1; 190 mM NaCl)</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Store at 4 &deg;C</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Low salt wash buffer (0.1% SDS; 1% Triton X-100; 2 mM EDTA; 20 mM Tris pH 8.1; 150 mM NaCl)</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Store at 4 &deg;C</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>High salt wash buffer (0.1% SDS; 1% Triton X-100; 2 mM EDTA; 20 mM Tris pH 8.1; 600 mM NaCl)</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Store at 4 &deg;C</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>LiCl wash buffer (0.25 M LiCl; 1% NP-40; 1% Sodium Deoxycholate, 1 mM EDTA; 10 mM Tris pH 8.0)</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Store at 4 &deg;C</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>TE buffer (10 mM Tris, pH 7.4, 1 mM EDTA)</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Store at 4 &deg;C</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Elution buffer (1% SDS; 0.1 M NaHCO3)</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Prepare fresh</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>5 M NaCl</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Store at RT</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>0.5 M EDTA</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Store at RT</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>1 M Tris-HCl, pH 6.5</td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Store at RT</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Table of Specific Reagents</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Clay Adams Brand Nutator</td>
 <td>Becton Dickinson</td>
 <td>Model: 421105</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Magnetic Stand</td>
 <td>Promega</td>
 <td>Z5342</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Qiaquick PCR Purification Kit</td>
 <td>Qiagen</td>
 <td>28106</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Masonix Sonicator 3000</td>
 <td>QSonica</td>
 <td>Model: S3000</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>UV Spectrophotometer</td>
 <td>NanoDrop Technologies</td>
 <td>ND-1000</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Heating Block</td>
 <td>VWR</td>
 <td>13259-030</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Rotator</td>
 <td>VWR</td>
 <td>80085-692 </td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Refrigerated bench top centrifuge</td>
 <td>Beckman Coulter</td>
 <td>Model: Allegra X-12R</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Microcentrifuge</td>
 <td>Eppendorf</td>
 <td>5415 D</td>
 <td></td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td></td>
 <td>Table of Equipment </td>
 </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>

efficient chromatin immunoprecipitation using limiting amounts of biomass

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a widely-used method for determining the interactions of different proteins with DNA in chromatin of living cells. Examples include sequence-specific DNA binding transcription factors, histones and their different modification states, enzymes such as RNA polymerases and ancillary factors, and DNA repair components. Despite its ubiquity, there is a lack of up-to-date, detailed methodologies for both bench preparation of material and for accurate analysis allowing quantitative metrics of interaction. Due to this lack of information, and also because, like any immunoprecipitation, conditions must be re-optimized for new sets of experimental conditions, the ChIP assay is susceptible to inaccurate or poorly quantitative results.
Our protocol is ultimately derived from seminal work on transcription factor:DNA interactions1,2 , but incorporates a number of improvements to sensitivity and reproducibility for difficult-to-obtain cell types. The protocol has been used successfully3,4 , both using qPCR to quantify DNA enrichment, or using a semi-quantitative variant of the below protocol.
This quantitative analysis of PCR-amplified material is performed computationally, and represents a limiting factor in the assay. Important controls and other considerations include the use of an isotype-matched antibody, as well as evaluation of a control region of genomic DNA, such as an intergenic region predicted not to be bound by the protein under study (or anticipated not to show changes under the experimental conditions). In addition, a standard curve of input material for every ChIP sample is used to derive absolute levels of enrichment in the experimental material. Use of standard curves helps to take into account differences between primer sets, regardless of how carefully they are designed, and also efficiency differences throughout the range of template concentrations for a single primer set. Our protocol is different from others that are available5-8 in that we extensively cover the later, analysis phase.

The Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) protocol presented here controls for differences, if any, in the amount of DNA used in PCR through use of a primer pair that amplifies an unbound region of genome, thus serving as a "loading control". In the example shown in Figure 3, we have used the coding region of the mouse Actb gene as a region unbound to our protein of interest and the transcription factor NFAT binding site on mouse Il2 promoter as target region. Alternatively, a regio...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Efficient Chromatin Immunoprecipitation using Limiting Amounts of Biomass at JoVE.com

Efficient Chromatin Immunoprecipitation using Limiting Amounts of Biomass

We describe a robust method for chromatin immunoprecipitation using primary T cells. The method is founded on standard approaches, but uses a specific set of conditions and reagents that improve efficiency for limited a quantities of cells. Importantly, a detailed description of the data analysis phase is presented.

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a  widely-used method for determining the interactions of different proteins with  DNA in chromatin of living ...

efficient-chromatin-immunoprecipitation-using-limiting-amounts

Research

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Biology

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation from Human Embryonic Stem Cells

The functional and structural complexity of the myriad of cells in metazoan organisms arises from a small number of stem cells. Stem cells are characterized by two fundamental properties: self-renewal and multipotency that allows a stem cell to differentiate into virtually any cell type 1. The progression stem cell to differentiated cell is characterized by loss of multipotency, structural and morphological changes and the hierarchic activity of transcription factors and signaling molecules, whose activities establish and maintain cell-type specific gene expression patterns. At the molecular level, cell differentiation involves dynamic changes of the structure and composition of chromatin and the detection of those dynamic changes can provide valuable insights into the functional features of stem cells and the cell differentiation process 2,3. Chromatin is a highly compacted DNA-protein complex that forms when cells package chromosomal DNA with proteins, mainly histones 4. Stemcellness and cell differentiation has been correlated with the presence of specific arrays of regulatory proteins such as epigenetic factors, histone variants, and transcription factors 2,3,5.
 Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) provides a valuable method to monitor the presence of RNA, proteins, and protein modifications in chromatin 6,7. The comparison of chromatin from different cell types can elucidate dynamic changes in protein-chromatin associations that occur during cell differentiation.
Chromatin immunoprecipitation involves the purification of in vivo cross-linked chromatin. The isolated chromatin is reduced to smaller fragments by enzymatic digestion or mechanical force. Chromatin fragments are precipitated using specific antibodies to target proteins or protein and DNA modifications. The precipitated DNA or RNA is purified and used as a template for PCR or DNA microarray based assays. Prerequisites for a successful ChIP are high quality antibodies to the desired antigen and the availability of chromatin from control cells that do not express the target molecule. ChIP can correlate the presence of proteins, protein and RNA modifications, and RNA with specific target DNA, and depending on the choice of outread tool, detects the association of target molecules at specific target genes or in the context of an entire genome. The comparison of the distribution of proteins in the chromatin of differentiating cells can elucidate the dynamic changes of chromatin composition that coincide with the progression of cells along a cell lineage.

The differentiation of ESC coincides with cell-type specific changes in the structure and composition of chromatin. The detection of those changes provides valuable insights into the mechanisms that define stemcellness and cell differentiation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) represents a valuable method to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying stem cell differentiation.

The functional and structural complexity of the myriad of cells in metazoan organisms arises from a small number of stem cells. Stem cells are ...

Methylated DNA Immunoprecipitation

The identification of DNA methylation patterns is a common procedure in the study of epigenetics, as methylation is known to have significant effects on gene expression, and is involved with normal development as well as disease 1-4. Thus, the ability to discriminate between methylated DNA and non-methylated DNA is essential for generating methylation profiles for such studies. Methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP) is an efficient technique for the extraction of methylated DNA from a sample of interest 5-7. A sample of as little as 200 ng of DNA is sufficient for the antibody, or immunoprecipitation (IP), reaction. DNA is sonicated into fragments ranging in size from 300-1000 bp, and is divided into immunoprecipitated (IP) and input (IN) portions. IP DNA is subsequently heat denatured and then incubated with anti-5'mC, allowing the monoclonal antibody to bind methylated DNA. After this, magnetic beads containing a secondary antibody with affinity for the primary antibody are added, and incubated. These bead-linked antibodies will bind the monoclonal antibody used in the first step. DNA bound to the antibody complex (methylated DNA) is separated from the rest of the DNA by using a magnet to pull the complexes out of solution. Several washes using IP buffer are then performed to remove the unbound, non-methylated DNA. The methylated DNA/antibody complexes are then digested with Proteinase K to digest the antibodies leaving only the methylated DNA intact. The enriched DNA is purified by phenol:chloroform extraction to remove the protein matter and then precipitated and resuspended in water for later use. PCR techniques can be used to validate the efficiency of the MeDIP procedure by analyzing the amplification products of IP and IN DNA for regions known to lack and known to contain methylated sequences. The purified methylated DNA can then be used for locus-specific (PCR) or genome-wide (microarray and sequencing) methylation studies, and is particularly useful when applied in conjunction with other research tools such as gene expression profiling and array comparative genome hybridization (CGH) 8. Further investigation into DNA methylation will lead to the discovery of new epigenetic targets, which in turn, may be useful in developing new therapeutic or prognostic research tools for diseases such as cancer that are characterized by aberrantly methylated DNA 2, 4, 9-11.

This video demonstrates the protocol for methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP). MeDIP is a two day procedure that selectively extracts methylated DNA fragments from a genomic DNA sample using antibodies with specificity for 5 -methylcytosine (anti-5 mC).

The identification of DNA methylation patterns is a common procedure in the study of epigenetics, as methylation is known to have significant effects on ...

Comprehensive Compositional Analysis of Plant Cell Walls (Lignocellulosic biomass) Part I: Lignin

The need for renewable, carbon neutral, and sustainable raw materials for industry and society has become one of the most pressing issues for the 21st century. This has rekindled interest in the use of plant products as industrial raw materials for the production of liquid fuels for transportation1 and other products such as biocomposite materials7. Plant biomass remains one of the greatest untapped reserves on the planet4. It is mostly comprised of cell walls that are composed of energy rich polymers including cellulose, various hemicelluloses (matrix polysaccharides, and the polyphenol lignin6 and thus sometimes termed lignocellulosics. However, plant cell walls have evolved to be recalcitrant to degradation as walls provide tensile strength to cells and the entire plants, ward off pathogens, and allow water to be transported throughout the plant; in the case of trees up to more the 100 m above ground level. Due to the various functions of walls, there is an immense structural diversity within the walls of different plant species and cell types within a single plant4. Hence, depending of what crop species, crop variety, or plant tissue is used for a biorefinery, the processing steps for depolymerization by chemical/enzymatic processes and subsequent fermentation of the various sugars to liquid biofuels need to be adjusted and optimized. This fact underpins the need for a thorough characterization of plant biomass feedstocks. Here we describe a comprehensive analytical methodology that enables the determination of the composition of lignocellulosics and is amenable to a medium to high-throughput analysis. In this first part we focus on the analysis of the polyphenol lignin (Figure 1). The method starts of with preparing destarched cell wall material. The resulting lignocellulosics are then split up to determine its lignin content by acetylbromide solubilization3, and its lignin composition in terms of its syringyl, guaiacyl- and p-hydroxyphenyl units5. The protocol for analyzing the carbohydrates in lignocellulosic biomass including cellulose content and matrix polysaccharide composition is discussed in Part II2.

Comprehensive Compositional Analysis of Plant Cell Walls Lignocellulosic biomass Part I: Lignin

Plant biomass is a major carbon-neutral renewable resource that could be used for the production of biofuels. Plant biomass consists mainly of cell walls, a structurally complex composite material termed lignocellulosics. Here we describe a protocol for a comprehensive analysis of the content and composition of the polyphenolic lignin.

The need for renewable, carbon neutral, and sustainable raw materials for industry and society has become one of the most pressing issues for the 21st ...

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) to Assay Dynamic Histone Modification in Activated Gene Expression in Human Cells

In response to a variety of extracellular ligands, the STAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription) transcription factors are rapidly recruited from their latent state in the cytoplasm to cell surface receptors where they are activated by phosphorylation at a single tyrosine residue1. They then dimerize and translocate to the nucleus to drive the transcription of target genes, affecting growth, differentiation, homeostasis and the immune response. Not surprisingly, given their widespread involvement in normal cell processes, dysregulation of STAT function contributes to human disease, particularly to cancers2 and autoimmune diseases3. It is well established that transcription is regulated by alterations to the chromatin template4,5. These alterations include the activities of ATP-dependent complexes, as well as covalent histone modifications and DNA methylation6. Because STAT activation of gene expression is both rapid and transient, it requires specific mechanisms for modulating the chromatin template at STAT-dependent gene loci. To define these mechanisms, we characterize the histone modifications and the enzymatic activities that generate them at gene loci that respond to STAT signaling. This protocol describes chromatin immunoprecipitation, a method that is valuable for the study of STAT signaling to chromatin in activated gene expression.

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation ChIP to Assay Dynamic Histone Modification in Activated Gene Expression in Human Cells

This protocol describes how chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is used to study the dynamic alterations to the chromatin template that regulate transcription induced by a signal transduction pathway.

In response to a variety of extracellular ligands, the STAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription) transcription factors are rapidly recruited ...

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Assay for Tissue-specific Genes using Early-stage Mouse Embryos

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a powerful tool to identify protein:chromatin interactions that occur in the context of living cells 1-3. This technique has been widely exploited in tissue culture cells, and to a lesser extent, in primary tissue. The application of ChIP to rodent embryonic tissue, especially at early times of development, is complicated by the limited amount of tissue and the heterogeneity of cell and tissue types in the embryo. Here we present a method to perform ChIP using a dissociated embryonic day 8.5 (E8.5) embryo. Sheared chromatin from a single E8.5 embryo can be divided into up to five aliquots, which allows the investigator sufficient material for controls and for investigation of specific protein:chromatin interactions.
We have utilized this technique to begin to document protein:chromatin interactions during the specification of tissue-specific gene expression programs. The heterogeneity of cell types in an embryo necessarily restricts the application of this technique because the result is the detection of protein:chromatin interactions without distinguishing whether the interactions occur in all, a subset of, or a single cell type(s). However, examination of tissue-specific genes during or following the onset of tissue-specific gene expression is feasible for two reasons. First, immunoprecipitation of tissue specific factors necessarily isolates chromatin from the cell type where the factor is expressed. Second, immunoprecipitation of coactivators and histones containing post-translational modifications that are associated with gene activation should only be found at genes and gene regulatory sequences in the cell type where the gene is being or has been activated. The technique should be applicable to the study of most tissue-specific gene activation events.
In the example described below, we utilized E8.5 and E9.5 mouse embryos to examine factor binding at a skeletal muscle specific gene promoter. Somites, which are the precursor tissues from which the skeletal muscles of the trunk and limbs will form, are present at E8.5-9.54,5. Myogenin is a regulatory factor required for skeletal muscle differentiation 6-9. The data demonstrate that myogenin is associated with its own promoter in E8.5 and E9.5 embryos. Because myogenin is only expressed in somites at this stage of development 6,10, the data indicate that myogenin interactions with its own promoter have already occurred in skeletal muscle precursor cells in E8.5 embryos.

We demonstrate a chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) method to identify factor interactions at tissue-specific genes during or after the onset of tissue-specific gene expression in mouse embryonic tissue. This protocol should be widely applicable for the study of tissue-specific gene activation as it occurs during normal embryonic development.

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a powerful tool to identify protein:chromatin interactions that occur in the context of living cells 1-3. This ...

Quantifying the Frequency of Tumor-propagating Cells Using Limiting Dilution Cell Transplantation in Syngeneic Zebrafish

Self-renewing cancer cells are the only cell types within a tumor that have an unlimited ability to promote tumor growth, and are thus known as tumor-propagating cells, or tumor-initiating cells. It is thought that targeting these self-renewing cells for destruction will block tumor progression and stop relapse, greatly improving patient prognosis1. The most common way to determine the frequency of self-renewing cells within a tumor is a limiting dilution cell transplantation assay, in which tumor cells are transplanted into recipient animals at increasing doses; the proportion of animals that develop tumors is used the calculate the number of self-renewing cells within the original tumor sample2, 3. Ideally, a large number of animals would be used in each limiting dilution experiment to accurately determine the frequency of tumor-propagating cells. However, large scale experiments involving mice are costly, and most limiting dilution assays use only 10-15 mice per experiment. 
Zebrafish have gained prominence as a cancer model, in large part due to their ease of genetic manipulation and the economy by which large scale experiments can be performed. Additionally, the cancer types modeled in zebrafish have been found to closely mimic their counterpart human disease4. While it is possible to transplant tumor cells from one fish to another by sub-lethal irradiation of recipient animals, the regeneration of the immune system after 21 days often causes tumor regression5. The recent creation of syngeneic zebrafish has greatly facilitated tumor transplantation studies 6-8. Because these animals are genetically identical, transplanted tumor cells engraft robustly into recipient fish, and tumor growth can be monitored over long periods of time. Syngeneic zebrafish are ideal for limiting dilution transplantation assays in that tumor cells do not have to adapt to growth in a foreign microenvironment, which may underestimate self-renewing cell frequency9, 10. Additionally, one-cell transplants have been successfully completed using syngeneic zebrafish8 and several hundred animals can be easily and economically transplanted at one time, both of which serve to provide a more accurate estimate of self-renewing cell frequency.
Here, a method is presented for creating primary, fluorescently-labeled T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) in syngeneic zebrafish, and transplanting these tumors at limiting dilution into adult fish to determine self-renewing cell frequency. While leukemia is provided as an example, this protocol is suitable to determine the frequency of tumor-propagating cells using any cancer model in the zebrafish.

Limiting dilution cell transplantation assays are used to determine the frequency of tumor-propagating cells. This protocol describes a method for generating syngeneic zebrafish that develop fluorescently-labeled leukemia and details how to isolate and transplant these leukemia cells at limiting dilution into the peritoneal cavity of adult zebrafish.

Self-renewing cancer cells are the only cell types within a tumor that have an unlimited ability to promote tumor growth, and are thus known as ...

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) using Drosophila tissue

Epigenetics remains a rapidly developing field that studies how the chromatin state contributes to differential gene expression in distinct cell types at different developmental stages. Epigenetic regulation contributes to a broad spectrum of biological processes, including cellular differentiation during embryonic development and homeostasis in adulthood. A critical strategy in epigenetic studies is to examine how various histone modifications and chromatin factors regulate gene expression. To address this, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is used widely to obtain a snapshot of the association of particular factors with DNA in the cells of interest.
ChIP technique commonly uses cultured cells as starting material, which can be obtained in abundance and homogeneity to generate reproducible data. However, there are several caveats: First, the environment to grow cells in Petri dish is different from that in vivo, thus may not reflect the endogenous chromatin state of cells in a living organism. Second, not all types of cells can be cultured ex vivo. There are only a limited number of cell lines, from which people can obtain enough material for ChIP assay.
Here we describe a method to do ChIP experiment using Drosophila tissues. The starting material is dissected tissue from a living animal, thus can accurately reflect the endogenous chromatin state. The adaptability of this method with many different types of tissue will allow researchers to address a lot more biologically relevant questions regarding epigenetic regulation in vivo1, 2. Combining this method with high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) will further allow researchers to obtain an epigenomic landscape.

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation ChIP using Drosophila tissue

Recently high-throughput sequencing technology has greatly increased sensitivity of Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiment and prompted its application using purified cells or dissected tissue. Here we delineate a method to use ChIP technique with Drosophila tissue, which can address the endogenous chromatin state in a well-characterized biological system.

Epigenetics remains a rapidly developing field that studies how the chromatin state contributes to differential gene expression in distinct cell types at ...

Generation of High Quality Chromatin Immunoprecipitation DNA Template for High-throughput Sequencing (ChIP-seq)

ChIP-sequencing (ChIP-seq) methods directly offer whole-genome coverage, where combining chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and massively parallel sequencing can be utilized to identify the repertoire of mammalian DNA sequences bound by transcription factors in vivo. "Next-generation" genome sequencing technologies provide 1-2 orders of magnitude increase in the amount of sequence that can be cost-effectively generated over older technologies thus allowing for ChIP-seq methods to directly provide whole-genome coverage for effective profiling of mammalian protein-DNA interactions.
For successful ChIP-seq approaches, one must generate high quality ChIP DNA template to obtain the best sequencing outcomes. The description is based around experience with the protein product of the gene most strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, namely the transcription factor transcription factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2). This factor has also been implicated in various cancers.
Outlined is how to generate high quality ChIP DNA template derived from the colorectal carcinoma cell line, HCT116, in order to build a high-resolution map through sequencing to determine the genes bound by TCF7L2, giving further insight in to its key role in the pathogenesis of complex traits.

Generation of High Quality Chromatin Immunoprecipitation DNA Template for High-throughput Sequencing ChIP-seq

The combination of chromatin immunoprecipitation and ultra-high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) can identify and map protein-DNA interactions in a given tissue or cell line. Outlined is how to generate a high quality ChIP template for subsequent sequencing, using experience with the transcription factor TCF7L2 as an example.

ChIP-sequencing (ChIP-seq) methods directly  offer whole-genome coverage, where combining chromatin immunoprecipitation  (ChIP) and massively parallel ...

An Efficient Method for Quantitative, Single-cell Analysis of Chromatin Modification and Nuclear Architecture in Whole-mount Ovules in Arabidopsis

In flowering plants, the somatic-to-reproductive cell fate transition is marked by the specification of spore mother cells (SMCs) in floral organs of the adult plant. The female SMC (megaspore mother cell, MMC) differentiates in the ovule primordium and undergoes meiosis. The selected haploid megaspore then undergoes mitosis to form the multicellular female gametophyte, which will give rise to the gametes, the egg cell and central cell, together with accessory cells. The limited accessibility of the MMC, meiocyte and female gametophyte inside the ovule is technically challenging for cytological and cytogenetic analyses at single cell level. Particularly, direct or indirect immunodetection of cellular or nuclear epitopes is impaired by poor penetration of the reagents inside the plant cell and single-cell imaging is demised by the lack of optical clarity in whole-mount tissues.
Thus, we developed an efficient method to analyze the nuclear organization and chromatin modification at high resolution of single cell in whole-mount embedded Arabidopsis ovules. It is based on dissection and embedding of fixed ovules in a thin layer of acrylamide gel on a microscopic slide. The embedded ovules are subjected to chemical and enzymatic treatments aiming at improving tissue clarity and permeability to the immunostaining reagents. Those treatments preserve cellular and chromatin organization, DNA and protein epitopes. The samples can be used for different downstream cytological analyses, including chromatin immunostaining, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and DNA staining for heterochromatin analysis. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) imaging, with high resolution, followed by 3D reconstruction allows for quantitative measurements at single-cell resolution.

An Efficient Method for Quantitative, Single-cell Analysis of Chromatin Modification and Nuclear Architecture in Whole-mount Ovules in Arabidopsis

We provide here an efficient and reliable protocol for immunostaining, Fluorescence in&#160;situ Hybridization, DNA staining followed by quantitative, high-resolution imaging in whole-mount Arabidopsis thaliana ovules. This method was successfully used to analyze chromatin modifications and nuclear architecture.

In flowering plants, the somatic-to-reproductive cell fate transition is marked by the specification of spore mother cells (SMCs) in floral organs of the ...

Identification of Protein Interaction Partners in Mammalian Cells Using SILAC-immunoprecipitation Quantitative Proteomics

Quantitative proteomics combined with immuno-affinity purification, SILAC immunoprecipitation, represent a powerful means for the discovery of novel protein:protein interactions. By allowing the accurate relative quantification of protein abundance in both control and test samples, true interactions may be easily distinguished from experimental contaminants. Low affinity interactions can be preserved through the use of less-stringent buffer conditions and remain readily identifiable. This protocol discusses the labeling of tissue culture cells with stable isotope labeled amino acids, transfection and immunoprecipitation of an affinity tagged protein of interest, followed by the preparation for submission to a mass spectrometry facility. This protocol then discusses how to analyze and interpret the data returned from the mass spectrometer in order to identify cellular partners interacting with a protein of interest. As an example this technique is applied to identify proteins binding to the eukaryotic translation initiation factors: eIF4AI and eIF4AII.

SILAC immunoprecipitation experiments represent a powerful means for discovering novel protein:protein interactions. By allowing the accurate relative quantification of protein abundance in both control and test samples, true interactions may be easily distinguished from experimental contaminants, and low affinity interactions preserved through use of less-stringent buffer conditions.

Quantitative proteomics combined with immuno-affinity purification, SILAC immunoprecipitation, represent a powerful means for the discovery of novel ...