Histone isoform H2A1H promotes attainment of distinct physiological states by altering chromatin dynamics

BACKGROUND: The distinct functional effects of the replication-dependent histone H2A isoforms have been demonstrated; however, the mechanistic basis of the non-redundancy remains unclear. Here, we have investigated the specific functional contribution of the histone H2A isoform H2A1H, which differs from another isoform H2A2A3 in the identity of only three amino acids. RESULTS: H2A1H exhibits varied expression levels in different normal tissues and human cancer cell lines (H2A1C in humans). It also promotes cell proliferation in a context-dependent manner when exogenously overexpressed. To uncover the molecular basis of the non-redundancy, equilibrium unfolding of recombinant H2A1H-H2B dimer was performed. We found that the M51L alteration at the H2A–H2B dimer interface decreases the temperature of melting of H2A1H-H2B by ~ 3 °C as compared to the H2A2A3-H2B dimer. This difference in the dimer stability is also reflected in the chromatin dynamics as H2A1H-containing nucleosomes are more stable owing to M51L and K99R substitutions. Molecular dynamic simulations suggest that these substitutions increase the number of hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions of H2A1H, enabling it to form more stable nucleosomes. CONCLUSION: We show that the M51L and K99R substitutions, besides altering the stability of histone–histone and histone–DNA complexes, have the most prominent effect on cell proliferation, suggesting that the nucleosome stability is intimately linked with the physiological effects observed. Our work provides insights into the molecular basis of the non-redundancy of the histone H2A isoforms that are being increasingly reported to be functionally important in varied physiological contexts. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13072-017-0155-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.