Journal: bioRxiv
Article Title: Distinct principles of genome compartmentalization in Drosophila and humans revealed by osmotic stress
doi: 10.64898/2026.04.02.716189
Figure Lengend Snippet: A. Human A375 cells immuno-stained with CTCF (magenta) and counterstained using DAPI. In control cells (top panel), grown in normal media, CTCF appears uniformly distributed on chromatin. In stress cells (middle panel), grown in media containing 250mM NaCl for 1 hour, chromatin appears highly condensed (inset) and occupancy of CTCF on chromatin is reduced, as it migrates to the nucleolus, interchromosomal spaces and the nuclear periphery. In these cells, CTCF does not form visible condensates. Recovery cells (bottom panel) were first grown in media containing 250mM NaCl for 1 hour and then returned to physiological media for 1 hour. Recovery cells look similar to control cells as CTCF is uniformly distributed on the chromatin and chromatin condensation appears similar to control (inset). B. Comparison of chromatin volume (DAPI stained area) for media (control, N = 30), 250mM NaCl treated (stress, N = 30) and physiological media treatment after 250mM NaCl treatment (recovery, N=30). Significant difference (One-Way ANOVA followed by multiple comparisons) in chromatin volume exists between control and stress (p = 0.007), stress and recovery (p = 0.005) but not between control and recovery. C. Drosophila S2 cells are uniformly immuno-stained with dCTCF (magenta) in normal media (control, top panel). In response to 250mM NaCl treatment (stress), chromatin appears condensed (DAPI, inset). The occupancy of dCTCF on the chromatin is reduced as it forms insulator bodies and migrates to nucleoplasm spaces. Salt stress treated cells returned to physiological media (recovery) look similar to the control cells as dCTCF is uniformly distributed on the chromatin. Scale bar = 2µm D . Comparison of chromatin volume (DAPI stained area) for media (control, N= 30), 250mM NaCl treated (stress, N= 30) and media treatment after 250mM NaCl treatment (recovery, N= 30). A significant difference exists in chromatin volume between control and stress (p <0.001), control and recovery (p <0.001) but not between stress and recovery. Scale bars = 2 µm.
Article Snippet: The human A375 malignant melanoma cells were purchased from ATCC (ATCC® CRL-1619TM).
Techniques: Staining, Control, Comparison