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Dissociation of mammalian Polycomb-group proteins, Ring1B and Rae28/Ph1, from the chromatin correlates with configuration changes of the chromatin in mitotic and meiotic prophase

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Abstract

The Polycomb group (PcG) gene products form complexes that regulate chromatin configuration to mediate cellular memory to postmitotic somatic cells and postmeiotic oocytes in Drosophila melanogaster. Structural and functional similarities of PcG proteins between invertebrates and vertebrates suggest mammalian PcG proteins may be involved to imprint transcriptional status at various loci into postmitotic and postmeiotic daughter cells. To address molecular mechanisms underlying PcG-mediated cellular memory, it might be a prerequisite to understand subcellular localization of PcG proteins during mitosis and meiosis. In this study, we analyzed subcellular localization of Rae28/Ph1 and Ring1B by using newly generated monoclonal antibodies in mitotic somatic cells and meiotic mouse oocytes. Results suggest that Rae28/Ph1 and Ring1B dissociate from the chromatin upon its condensation in mitotic prophase in the U2-OS human osteosarcoma cell line. During maturation of oocytes, significant alterations of Rae28/Ph1 and Ring1B localization are concordant with configuration changes of the chromatin at the germinal vesicle stage of meiotic prophase. Importantly, dissociation of Rae28/Ph1 and Ring1B from the chromatin temporally correlates with transcriptional arrest both in mitosis and meiosis. Present and previous observations suggest molecular mechanisms required for mitotic regulation of RNA polymerase II could be involved in dissociation of PcG proteins.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Drs. M. Maekawa and Y. Toyama for the valuable suggestions on histological analyses of ovaries, Ms Sanae Takeda and Misao Uchida and Mr. Shozo Sugimori for their technical assistance, and Dr. T. Akasaka for initial instructions for confocal microscopic analyses. This project was supported by Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Japanese Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Embryology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuoku, 260-8670, Chiba, Japan

    Hiro Miyagishima, Kyoichi Isono, Yuichi Fujimura & Haruhiko Koseki

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuoku, 260-8670, Chiba, Japan

    Hiro Miyagishima & Masaomi Iyo

  3. Department of Developmental Biology and Medicine, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Nakamiti 1-3-3, Tousei-ku, 537-8511, Osaka, Japan

    Yoshihiro Takihara

  4. Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, 464-8602 , Nagoya, Japan

    Hiroshi Masumoto

  5. Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas, Department of Development and Cell Biology, Velazques 144, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Miguel Vidal

  6. RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, 1-7-22 Suehiro, Tsurumi-ku, 230-0045, Yokohama, Japan

    Haruhiko Koseki

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  1. Hiro Miyagishima
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  8. Haruhiko Koseki
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Correspondence to Haruhiko Koseki.

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Miyagishima, H., Isono, K., Fujimura, Y. et al. Dissociation of mammalian Polycomb-group proteins, Ring1B and Rae28/Ph1, from the chromatin correlates with configuration changes of the chromatin in mitotic and meiotic prophase. Histochem Cell Biol 120, 111–119 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00418-003-0551-2

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