Magnetic micromanipulation of chromatin in live cells
To gain a better understanding of material properties of chromatin and successfully link them to chromatin organization and functions such as transcription, we develop novel methods to actively manipulate a genomic locus inside the nucleus of a living human cell. By targeting iron-containing nanoparticles to a specific genomic locus and applying a controlled magnetic field, we were able to physically move chromatin through nuclear space for the first time. Exertion of near-picoNewton forces led to displacements over microns within minutes. We observe partially reversible stretching of chromatin highlighting its’ viscoelastic nature. We could accurately recapitulate the observed behavior with a Rouse model that included only a weak obstructive effect of the surrounding chromatin and nucleoplasmic material. This challenges the view that interphase chromatin is a gel-like material.
Authors
- Laura Zambon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8654-5500)
- Daniele Fachinetti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8795-6771)
- Antoine Coulon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4003-6043)
- Maxime Woringer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2581-9808)
- Leonid A. Mirny (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0785-5410)
- Maxime Dahan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4943-2491)
- Veer I. P. Keizer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2612-862X)
- Edward J. Banigan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5478-7425)
- Vittore F. Scolari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3490-0579)
- Koceila Aïzel
- Daniel R. Larson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9253-3055)
- Maud Bongaerts
- Simon Grosse‐Holz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0717-5757)
- Lorena Kolar-Znika
Institutions
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- National Cancer Institute (US)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Institut Curie (FR)
Publication Details
- Published
- 2024-10-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3029469
- Primary Topic
- Microfluidic and Bio-sensing Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00