The regulatory mechanisms that ensure an accurate control of gene transcription are central to cellular function, development and disease. Such mechanisms rely largely on noncoding regulatory sequences that allow the establishment and maintenance of cell identity and tissue-specific cellular functions.The study of chromatin structure and nucleosome positioning allowed revealing transcription factor accessible genomic sites with regulatory potential, facilitating the comprehension of tissue-specific cis-regulatory networks. Recently a new technique coupled with high-throughput sequencing named Assay for Transposase Accessible Chromatin (ATAC-seq) emerged as an efficient method to chart open chromatin genome wide. The application of such technique to different cell types allowed unmasking tissue-specific regulatory elements and characterizing cis-regulatory networks. Herein we describe the implementation of the ATAC-seq method to human pancreatic islets, a tissue playing a central role in the control of glucose metabolism.
Keywords: Epigenetics; Gene transcription; Open chromatin; Pancreatic islets.