DNA-protein interaction at erythroid important regulatory elements of MEL cells by in vivo footprinting

Using ligation-mediated PCR method to study the status of DNA-protein interaction at hypersensitive site 2 of locus control Region and βmaj promoter of MEL cell line before and after induction, MEL cell has been cultured and induced to differentiation by Hemin and DMSO, then the live cells have been treated with dimethyl sulfate. Ligation mediated PCR has been carried out following the chemical cleavage. The results demonstrate that before and after induction, the status of DNA-protein interaction at both hypersensitive site 2 and βmaj promoter change significantly, indicating that distal regulatory elements (locus control region, hypersensitive sites) as well as proximal regulatory elements (promoter, enhancer) of β-globin gene cluster participate in the regulation of developmental specificity.