Depletion of nuclear histone H2A variants is associated with chronic DNA damage signaling upon drug-evoked senescence of human somatic cells

Aging (Albany NY). 2012 Nov;4(11):823-42. doi: 10.18632/aging.100507.

Abstract

Cellular senescence is associated with global chromatin changes, altered gene expression, and activation of chronic DNA damage signaling. These events ultimately lead to morphological and physiological transformations in primary cells. In this study, we show that chronic DNA damage signals caused by genotoxic stress impact the expression of histones H2A family members and lead to their depletion in the nuclei of senescent human fibroblasts. Our data reinforce the hypothesis that progressive chromatin destabilization may lead to the loss of epigenetic information and impaired cellular function associated with chronic DNA damage upon drug-evoked senescence. We propose that changes in the histone biosynthesis and chromatin assembly may directly contribute to cellular aging. In addition, we also outline the method that allows for quantitative and unbiased measurement of these changes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic
  • Bleomycin
  • Blotting, Western
  • Cellular Senescence / drug effects
  • Cellular Senescence / genetics*
  • Chromatin / genetics
  • Chromatin / metabolism
  • Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly / drug effects
  • Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly / genetics
  • DNA Damage / genetics*
  • Fibroblasts / drug effects
  • Fibroblasts / metabolism
  • Histones / genetics*
  • Histones / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Mass Spectrometry / methods
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Signal Transduction / genetics*

Substances

  • Antibiotics, Antineoplastic
  • Chromatin
  • Histones
  • Bleomycin