
Michael Bustin, Ph.D.
Senior Investigator
Basic Research Laboratory
NCI/CCR
Research Topics
Chromosomal Proteins and Chromatin Function
Precise and specific interactions between chromosomal proteins and the chromatin fiber play a key role in epigenetic regulation, transcription, replication and DNA repair and therefore affect the orderly progression of biological processes such as development and differentiation. Numerous diseases, including cancer, are associated with changes in chromatin structure and function. The research aim of the Protein Section is to study the molecular mechanisms whereby nuclear proteins affect the structure and function of chromatin and play a role in establishing the cellular phenotype. The focus is on architectural proteins such as HMGN, the linker histone H1 and additional members of the high mobility group (HMG) protein family, which have been shown to affect the structure and function of chromatin and play a role in development and disease.
The laboratory employs a multidisciplinary approach, including analysis of transgenic and knock-out mice, and methodologies used in molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology and immunochemistry, to study:
1. Molecular mechanisms whereby chromosomal proteins modulate gene expression from chromatin.
2. Mechanisms whereby HMGN chromosomal proteins affect the cellular phenotype and modulate embryonic differentiation.
3. The role of HMGN chromosomal proteins in modulating DNA repair processes.
4. The role of architectural chromatin binding proteins in epigenetic regulation.
5. Global organization of architectural proteins in the nucleus and in chromatin and their role in chromatin dynamics.
For more details about our research program, list of publications, and representative results please visit the Bustin Laboratory Web site.
Biography
Selected Publications
Bustin M, Misteli T. Nongenetic functions of the genome. Science. 2016;352(6286):aad6933.
Deng T, Zhu ZI, Zhang S, Leng F, Cherukuri S, Hansen L, Mariño-Ramírez L, Meshorer E, Landsman D, Bustin M. HMGN1 modulates nucleosome occupancy and DNase I hypersensitivity at the CpG island promoters of embryonic stem cells. Mol Cell Biol. 2013;33(16):3377-89.
Rochman M, Postnikov Y, Correll S, Malicet C, Wincovitch S, Karpova TS, McNally JG, Wu X, Bubunenko NA, Grigoryev S, Bustin M. The interaction of NSBP1/HMGN5 with nucleosomes in euchromatin counteracts linker histone-mediated chromatin compaction and modulates transcription. Mol Cell. 2009;35(5):642-56.
Catez F, Ueda T, Bustin M. Determinants of histone H1 mobility and chromatin binding in living cells. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2006;13(4):305-10.
Pash J, Popescu N, Matocha M, Rapoport S, Bustin M. Chromosomal protein HMG-14 gene maps to the Down syndrome region of human chromosome 21 and is overexpressed in mouse trisomy 16. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990;87(10):3836-40.
Related Scientific Focus Areas
Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
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This page was last updated on April 14th, 2022