In another test this specificity is even more clearly demonstrated.
Foetal mouse liver cells synthesize the protein globin (the non-iron part of haemoglobin) but foetal mouse brain cells do not. Iii vitro addition of NHC proteins from foetal liver to DNA and histone from the brain leads to production of globin mRNA.
(7) NHC proteins show preferential binding to the DNA of the organisms from which they are isolated.
According to the theory of Stein and his coworkers (see Stein, G.S., Stein J.S. and Kleinsmith, 1975), regulation of gene activity .
Histones probably act as nonspecific repressors of genetic function and prevent transcription of RNA from DNA. Individual NHC proteins recognize certain sites on DNA and hind to it there.
They then pull off the histone repressor from the site, thus derepressing DNA. NHC proteins act by derepressing.





