Profiling histone modifications by chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled to deep sequencing in skeletal cells

Chromatin, tightly packaged genomic DNA, is reliant on posttranslational modification of histone N-terminal tails for accessibility of DNA by transcription factors to activate transcription. Each histone modification may denote permissible states for gene activation or repression. As cells undergo differentiation, as they do in the skeleton from multipotential precursors through osteoblasts and into osteocytes, their histone code may be altered to help accommodate these transitions. Here we describe the methodology of chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) coupled to deep sequencing (ChIP-seq) on skeletal cells that have differentiated in cell culture.