Systems Biology

Post-translational modifications to histone tails contribute to the three-dimensional structure of chromatin and play an important role in determining the relative expression of nearby genes. One such modification is symmetric di-methylation of arginine residues, which may exhibit different effects on gene expression including blocking the binding of transcriptional activators, or recruiting repressive effector molecules. Recent ChIP-Seq studies have demonstrated the importance of cross-talk between different histone modifications in gene regulation. Thus, to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the combined efforts of these epigenetic marks, ChIP-Seq must be utilized for identifying specific enrichment on the chromatin. Tumorigenic herpesvirus KSHV, employs epigenetic mechanisms for gene regulation, and by evaluating relative abundance of multiple histone modifications in a thorough, unbiased way, using ChIP-Seq, we can get a superior insight concerning the complex mechanisms of viral replication and pathogenesis.

Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by massively parallel sequencing (ChIP-seq) is a powerful technology to profile genome-wide chromatin modification patterns and is increasingly being used to study the molecular mechanisms of brain diseases such as drug addiction. This protocol discusses the typical procedures involved in ChIP-seq data generation, bioinformatic analysis, and interpretation of results, using a chronic cocaine treatment study as a template. We describe an experimental design that induces significant chromatin modifications in mouse brain, and the use of ChIP-seq to derive novel information about the chromatin regulatory mechanisms involved. We describe the bioinformatic methods used to preprocess the sequencing data, generate global enrichment profiles for specific histone modifications, identify enriched genomic loci, find differential modification sites, and perform functional analyses. These ChIP-seq analyses provide many details into the chromatin changes that are induced in brain by chronic exposure to cocaine, and generates an invaluable source of information to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying drug addiction. Our protocol provides a standardized procedure for data analysis and can serve as a starting point for any other ChIP-seq projects.