Changes in chromatin structure during rat liver regeneration as demonstrated by thermal melting analyses.

Chromatin was isolated from regenerating rat livers at different times after 2/3 hepatectomy and enriched with respect to active sequences. Thermal melting analyses of the material resulted in profiles reflecting the specific structural organization of the chromatin during different phases of the regeneration process: The high transcriptional activity of the chromatin 1, 16, and 36 hours after hepatectomy is demonstrated by a high proportion of DNA-protein complexes melting between 80 degrees C and 85 degrees C, while the period of active DNA synthesis 24 hours after hepatectomy is reflected by high amounts of components with Tm around 90 degrees C.