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Large-scale chromatin organization of the major histocompatibility complex and other regions of human chromosome 6 and its response to interferon in interphase nuclei
E.V. Volpi, E. Chevret, T. Jones, R. Vatcheva, J. Williamson, S. Beck, R.D. Campbell, M. Goldsworthy, S.H. Powis, J. Ragoussis, J. Trowsdale, D. Sheer
Journal of Cell Science 2000 113: 1565-1576;

Summary

The large-scale chromatin organization of the major histocompatibility complex and other regions of chromosome 6 was studied by three-dimensional image analysis in human cell types with major differences in transcriptional activity. Entire gene clusters were visualized by fluorescence in situ hybridization with multiple locus-specific probes. Individual genomic regions showed distinct configurations in relation to the chromosome 6 terrritory. Large chromatin loops containing several megabases of DNA were observed extending outwards from the surface of the domain defined by the specific chromosome 6 paint. The frequency with which a genomic region was observed on an external chromatin loop was cell type dependent and appeared to be related to the number of active genes in that region. Transcriptional up-regulation of genes in the major histocompatibility complex by interferon-gamma led to an increase in the frequency with which this large gene cluster was found on an external chromatin loop. Our data are consistent with an association between large-scale chromatin organization of specific genomic regions and their transcriptional status.

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Journal Article
Large-scale chromatin organization of the major histocompatibility complex and other regions of human chromosome 6 and its response to interferon in interphase nuclei
E.V. Volpi, E. Chevret, T. Jones, R. Vatcheva, J. Williamson, S. Beck, R.D. Campbell, M. Goldsworthy, S.H. Powis, J. Ragoussis, J. Trowsdale, D. Sheer
Journal of Cell Science 2000 113: 1565-1576;
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