Multiple roles of H2A.Z in regulating promoter chromatin architecture in human cells (RNA-seq)

We employed an MNase-Transcription Start Site Sequence Capture method to map and determine the accessibility of all nucleosomes, including those that contain H2A.Z, at high coverage for all human Pol II promoters. We uncovered unexpected features of nucleosomal organization in epithelial cells and following transition to a mesenchymal and malignant state. In contrast to the prevailing model, we observe many different types of active and inactive promoter structures that differ in their nucleosome organization and sensitivity to MNase digestion. Further, we found that H2A.Z has an important role in the assembly of repressed promoters into an inaccessible state. Finally, we uncovered a new promoter type in which a stable H2A.Z nucleosome occupies the TSS of an active promoter. RNA-seq in MCF10A and MCF10A-CA1a cells