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Chromatin-remodelling factor CHRAC contains the ATPases ISWI and topoisomerase II

Nature volume 388, pages 598–602 (1997)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 30 October 1997

Abstract

Repressive chromatin structures need to be unravelled to allow DNA-binding proteins access to their target sequences. This de-repression constitutes an important point at which transcription and presumably other nuclear processes can be regulated1,2. Energy-consuming enzyme complexes that facilitate the interaction of transcription factors with chromatin by modifying nucleosome structure are involved in this regulation3,4,5. One such factor, nucleosome-remodelling factor (NURF), has been isolated from Drosophila embryo extracts4,6,7. We have now identified a chromatin-accessibility complex (CHRAC) which uses energy to increase the general accessibility of DNA in chromatin. However, unlike other known chromatin remodelling factors, CHRAC can also function during chromatin assembly: it uses ATP to convert irregular chromatin into a regular array of nucleosomes with even spacing. CHRAC combines enzymes that modulate nucleosome structure and DNA topology. Using mass spectrometry, we identified two of the five CHRAC subunits as the ATPase ISWI, which is also part of NURF6,8, and topoisomerase II. The presence of ISWI in different contexts suggests that chromatin remodelling machines have a modular nature and that ISWI has a central role in different chromatin remodelling reactions.

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Figure 1: CHRAC assay.
Figure 2: Purification of CHRAC.
Figure 3: CHRAC targets nucleosomes.
Figure 4: ISWI and topo II co-immunoprecipitate from the crude first CM-Sepharose eluate.
Figure 5: ATPase activities of purified CHRAC and topoisomerase II.
Figure 6: a, CHRAC is an ATP-dependent spacing factor.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by an EMBO fellowship to P.D.V. and by a grant for the DFG to P.B.B. We thank T. Tsukiyama and C. Wu for a generous gift of NURF fractions and ISWI antibodies, S. Beek and J. Tamkun for antibodies against ISWI, P. Fisher and D. Arndt-Jovin for antibodies against topo II; A. Shevchenko for technical help, H. Stunnenberg for important suggestions and discussions, T. Blank and C. Garcia-Jimenez for introduction to chromatography and P. Riedinger for artwork.

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  1. European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany

    Patrick D. Varga-Weisz, Matthias Wilm, Edgar Bonte, Katia Dumas, Matthias Mann & Peter B. Becker

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  1. Patrick D. Varga-Weisz
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Correspondence to Peter B. Becker.

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Varga-Weisz, P., Wilm, M., Bonte, E. et al. Chromatin-remodelling factor CHRAC contains the ATPases ISWI and topoisomerase II. Nature 388, 598–602 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/41587

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