State of Chromatin Sensitivity to DNase I in the Rat Ig-β/Growth Hormone Locus Determined by Real-Time PCR

Using Ig-β and growth hormone producing cells with liver-derived cells for controls, sensitivity of chromatin to DNase I was measured by real-time PCR at eleven targets in rat Ig-β/growth hormone locus where four cell type-specific genes and two ubiquitously expressed genes are present in a compact 88-kb region. Chromatin situated at the promoter of actively-transcribed gene and placed at cell type-specific DNase I hypersensitive sites with enhancer activity was sensitive to DNase I. In the case of inactive gene, chromatin located in these regions was resistant to DNase I. Unexpectedly, however, chromatin placed in the transcribed intron was resistant to DNase I in two genes. DNase I sensitive chromatin was shown not to distribute locus-widely but rather to localize at the promoter and the enhancer of actively-transcribed genes in this locus.