Human Sperm Telomere–Binding Complex Involves Histone H2b and Secures Telomere Membrane Attachment
- Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). School of Medicine. Dept. of Biological Chemistry; Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Vilnius (Lithuania). Inst. of Biochemistry; DOE/OSTI
- Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). School of Medicine. Dept. of Biological Chemistry
- Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). School of Medicine. Dept. of Biological Chemistry; Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Life Sciences Division
Telomeres are unique chromatin domains located at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. Telomere functions in somatic cells involve complexes between telomere proteins and TTAGGG DNA repeats. During the differentiation of germ-line cells, telomeres undergo significant reorganization most likely required for additional specific functions in meiosis and fertilization. A telomere-binding protein complex from human sperm (hSTBP) has been isolated by detergent treatment and was partially purified. hSTBP specifically binds double-stranded telomeric DNA and does not contain known somatic telomere proteins TRF1, TRF2, and Ku. Surprisingly, the essential component of this complex has been identified as a specific variant of histone H2B. Indirect immunofluorescence shows punctate localization of H2B in sperm nuclei, which in part coincides with telomeric DNA localization established by fluorescent in situ hybridization. Anti–H2B antibodies block interactions of hSTBP with telomere DNA, and spH2B forms specific complex with this DNA in vitro, indicating that this protein plays a role in telomere DNA recognition. We propose that hSTBP participates in the membrane attachment of telomeres that may be important for ordered chromosome withdrawal after fertilization.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Biological Systems Science Division; National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1625121
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Cell Biology, Journal Name: Journal of Cell Biology Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 151; ISSN 0021-9525
- Publisher:
- Rockefeller University PressCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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