Semi-quantitative Analysis of H4K20me1 Levels in Living Cells Using Mintbody

Eukaryotic nuclear DNA wraps around histone proteins to form a nucleosome, a basic unit of chromatin. Posttranslational modification of histones plays an important role in gene regulation and chromosome duplication. Some modifications are quite stable to be an epigenetic memory, and others exhibit rapid turnover or fluctuate during the cell cycle. Histone H4 Lys20 monomethylation (H4K20me1) has been shown to be involved in chromosome condensation, segregation, replication and repair. H4K20 methylation is controlled through a few methyltransferases, PR-Set7/Set8, SUV420H1, and SUV420H2, and a demethylase, PHF8. In cycling cells, the level of H4K20me1 increases during G2 and M phases and decreases during G1 phase. To monitor the local concentration and global fluctuation of histone modifications in living cells, we have developed a genetically encoded probe termed mintbody (modification-specific intracellular antibody; Sato et al., 2013 and 2016). By measuring the nuclear to cytoplasmic intensity ratio, the relative level of H4K20me1 in individual cells can be monitored. This detailed protocol allows the semi-quantitative analysis of the effects of methyltransferases on H4K20me1 levels in living cells based on H4K20me1-mintbody described by Sato et al. (2016).