Title
Formaldehyde Cross-Linking
UMMS Affiliation
Program in Systems Biology; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
Publication Date
2018-04-02
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Laboratory and Basic Science Research | Molecular Biology | Systems Biology
Abstract
Formaldehyde cross-linking of DNA to associated proteins is a relatively straightforward method, but it is also the most critical step in the chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and 3C analyses. Although formaldehyde is a highly permeable cross-linker, its maximum cross-linking efficiencies are estimated to be at approximately 1% for mammalian cells because reactivity is limited to amines. Therefore, a relatively large number of cells are required for 3C and ChIP-based assays. Five hundred million cross-linked diploid cells are equivalent to approximately 1.66 fmol of the genome. Thus, only approximately 100 amol of genomic copies is analyzed for one ChIP assay. Because the quality of cross-linked chromatin can vary, even when generated under near-identical conditions, it is preferable to generate multiple large batches. This protocol describes growing and cross-linking IMR90 primary human fibroblast cells for ChIP analysis. For other cell types, some modification of the protocol is necessary.
DOI of Published Version
10.1101/pdb.prot082594
Source
Cold Spring Harb Protoc. 2018 Apr 2;2018(4):pdb.prot082594. doi: 10.1101/pdb.prot082594. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Cold Spring Harbor protocols
Related Resources
PubMed ID
29610357
Repository Citation
Kim TH, Dekker J. (2018). Formaldehyde Cross-Linking. Program in Systems Biology Publications. https://doi.org/10.1101/pdb.prot082594. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/sysbio_pubs/134