A transient increase in histone H2A ubiquitination is coincident with the
onset of erythroleukemic cell differentiation
JO Hensold, PS Swerdlow and DE Housman
Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge.
Murine erythroleukemia cells are useful for studying the regulation of
erythroid differentiation since these malignant pronormoblasts
differentiate to orthochromatic normoblasts when treated with a variety of
inducing agents. Changes in chromatin proteins have been described
following inducer exposure. The significance of these changes, which are
greatest in terminally differentiated cells remains unknown. Ubiquitin is a
highly conserved 8.5 kilodalton peptide that is covalently linked to up to
10% of histone H2A. We demonstrate that following exposure of MEL cells to
inducers of differentiation, a transient increase in ubiquitination of H2A
occurs. This change is coincident with the onset of differentiation. This
result suggests that ubiquitination of H2A may have a role in the nuclear
changes necessary for erythroleukemic cell differentiation.
Volume 71,
Issue 4,
pp. 1153-1156,
04/01/1988
Copyright © 1988 by The American Society of Hematology
