Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 17, 2026

Combined DNA-RNA Fluorescent In situ Hybridization (FISH) to Study X Chromosome Inactivation in Differentiated Female Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells
Published on: June 14, 2014
Satb1 and Satb2 are dispensable for X chromosome inactivation in mice
Robert Nechanitzky1, Amparo Dávila, Fabio Savarese
1Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Department of Cellular and Molecular Immunology, 79108 Freiburg, Germany.
Abstract:
Satb1 and Satb2 have been recently described as regulators of embryonic stem (ES) cell pluripotency and as silencing factors in X chromosome inactivation. The influence of the pluripotency machinery on X chromosome inactivation and the lack of an X chromosome inactivation defect in Satb1(-/-) and Satb2(-/-) mice raise the question of whether or not Satb proteins are directly and/or redundantly involved in this process. Here, we analyzed X chromosome inactivation in fibroblastic cells that were derived from female Satb1(-/-)Satb2(-/-) embryos. By fluorescence in situ hybridization to visualize Xist RNA and by immunohistochemistry to detect H3K27me3 histone modifications, we found that female Satb1(-/-)Satb2(-/-) fibroblastic cells contain proper Barr bodies. Moreover, we did not detect an upregulation of X-linked genes, suggesting that Satb proteins are dispensable for X chromosome inactivation in mice.
Related Concept Videos
X-Inactivation
X-inactivation
Dosage Compensation
In addition to sexual development, the X chromosome has genes involved in autosomal functions such as brain development and the immune system. Therefore, males and females with distinct numbers of X chromosomes will have...
Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
The Ratio of X Chromosome to Autosomes
Normal male Drosophila has a ratio of one X chromosome to two sets of autosomes. In contrast, normal female Drosophila...
Heterochromatin
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at 9th...

