Live Imaging Reveals Chromatin Compaction Transitions and Dynamic Transcriptional Bursting During Stem Cell Differentiation In Vivo

    March 2023 in “ eLife ”
    Dennis May, Sangwon Yun, David G. Gonzalez, Sang‐Bum Park, Yanbo Chen, Elizabeth Lathrop, Biao Cai, Tianchi Xin, Hongyu Zhao, Siyuan Wang, Lauren E. Gonzalez, Katie Cockburn, Valentina Greco
    TLDR Stem cell differentiation involves gradual chromatin changes and dynamic gene activity.
    The study used live imaging with fluorescently-tagged histones to track chromatin compaction in epidermal stem cells in mice, revealing that chromatin compaction was independent of the cell cycle and reflected differentiation status. Chromatin compaction transitioned gradually over days as cells differentiated, with transcription of Keratin-10 marking the onset of differentiation and occurring in loosely packed euchromatic regions. The study found that transcriptional changes preceded chromatin compaction, indicating dynamic transcriptional states during differentiation. By knocking out one copy of the Serum Response Factor (Srf), researchers observed shifts in chromatin compaction and transcriptional identity, suggesting that chromatin changes reflect transcriptional program alterations. The study highlighted the flexibility of stem cell differentiation and the potential for this approach to be applied to other biological transitions.
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