Abstract
Gene expression can be silenced by proximity to heterochromatin blocks containing centromeric alpha-satellite DNA. This has been shown experimentally through cis-acting chromosome rearrangements resulting in linear genomic proximity, or through trans-acting changes resulting in intranuclear spatial proximity. Although it has long been been established that centromeres are nonrandomly distributed during interphase, little is known of what determines the three-dimensional organization of these silencing domains in the nucleus. Here, we propose a model that predicts the intranuclear positioning of centromeric heterochromatin for each individual chromosome. With the use of fluorescence in situ hybridization and confocal microscopy, we show that the distribution of centromeric alpha-satellite DNA in human lymphoid cells synchronized at G(0)/G(1) is unique for most individual chromosomes. Regression analysis reveals a tight correlation between nuclear distribution of centromeric alpha-satellite DNA and the presence of G-dark bands in the corresponding chromosome. Centromeres surrounded by G-dark bands are preferentially located at the nuclear periphery, whereas centromeres of chromosomes with a lower content of G-dark bands tend to be localized at the nucleolus. Consistent with the model, a t(11; 14) translocation that removes G-dark bands from chromosome 11 causes a repositioning of the centromere, which becomes less frequently localized at the nuclear periphery and more frequently associated with the nucleolus. The data suggest that "chromosomal environment" plays a key role in the intranuclear organization of centromeric heterochromatin. Our model further predicts that facultative heterochromatinization of distinct genomic regions may contribute to cell-type specific patterns of centromere localization.