Detection of post-translational modifications on native intact nucleosomes by ELISA.

The genome of eukaryotes exists as chromatin which contains both DNA and proteins. The fundamental unit of chromatin is the nucleosome, which contains 146 base pairs of DNA associated with two each of histones H2A, H2B, H3, and H4. The N-terminal tails of histones are rich in lysine and arginine and are modified post-transcriptionally by acetylation, methylation, and other post-translational modifications (PTMs). The PTM configuration of nucleosomes can affect the transcriptional activity of associated DNA, thus providing a mode of gene regulation that is epigenetic in nature. We developed a method called nucleosome ELISA (NU-ELISA) to quantitatively determine global PTM signatures of nucleosomes extracted from cells. NU-ELISA is more sensitive and quantitative than western blotting, and is useful to interrogate the epiproteomic state of specific cell types. This video journal article shows detailed procedures to perform NU-ELISA analysis.