The chromatin organizer SATB1 regulates distant genes by selectively tethering matrix attachment regions (MARs) to the nuclear matrix. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are important regulators of functional activities of proteins. Recently, a phosphorylation-dependent molecular switch that provided insights into the molecular mechanism of transcriptional repression and activation by SATB1 was discovered. SATB1 is specifically phosphorylated by protein kinase C (PKC) at serine 185 in vivo, and this modification leads to repression of transcription by SATB1 via increased association with the histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) corepressor. In this chapter, we describe methods for overexpression and purification of full length SATB1 protein and for its in vitro phosphorylation. We also describe method for in vivo phosphorylation of SATB1 upon immunoprecipitation using anti-SATB1. Finally, we describe a functional assay to monitor the effect of phosphorylation on transcription activity of SATB1 in vivo using MAR-linked reporter assay, in the presence and absence of PKC inhibitors.
