To fit inside the nucleus of a mammalian cell, DNA must wrap around proteins called histones. The histones are the main protein component of chromatin, the DNA-protein substance that forms chromosomes. Chromatin is partially unwound during DNA replication and when genes are expressed. Researchers have identified several different histone proteins in chromatin, but little is known about several of the proteins.

Arthur Skoultchi, Ph.D., has received a four-year, $2 million National Institutes of Health grant to study the structure of a specific family of histones called H1 linker histones and how those histones function to regulate gene expression. The H1 linker histones are essential for fetal development, and mutations affecting them are linked to cancer and other human diseases. Research into these crucially important proteins could lead to novel approaches for treating human diseases.

Dr. Skoultchi is the Judith and Burton P. Resnick Chair in Cell Biology and is professor and chair of the department of cell biology at Einstein. (1R01GM147165-01)