Analyses of the chromatin and transcriptional basis for lateral inhibition in isolated intestinal epithelial cells.

We analyzed chromatin modifications, DNaseI-hypersensitive sites, and occupancy of a key secretory-lineage transcription factor, ATOH1. We found that lateral inhibition in the intestine occurs through ATOH1 exerting direct control within a broadly permissive chromatin state that is established in stem cells and is highly similar in specified progenitors of divergent potential. Mapping chromatin modifications (H3K4me2 and H3K27ac), DNaseI hypersensitivity (DHS), and ATOH1 binding sites in isolated intestinal crypt progenitors and mature intestinal villus cells.