Osmotic Coupling of Mechanics and Epigenetics Regulates Chromatin Phase Organization

Nuclear hydration is identified as a central state variable that links epigenetic, osmotic, and mechanical perturbations to chromatin phase organization and nuclear mechanics.

• Why it matters: Cells reorganize chromatin under multiple stresses, but it has been unclear how these distinct cues are integrated into one physical nuclear response.
• What they did: The authors build a non-equilibrium mesoscale model coupling chromatin elasticity, water transport, and epigenetic reaction-diffusion kinetics, treating chromatin as a deformable polymer.
• The result: The model predicts hydration-driven shifts in intranuclear water, nuclear volume, and euchromatin–heterochromatin phase balance, including directional heterochromatin elongation and lamellar transitions, supported by imaging, AFM, and accessibility measurements under pharmacological, osmotic, and mechanical perturbations.

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