SNF2H and RNF20 enable specifically heterochromatic relaxation after DSB induction. (A) Confluence-arrested NIH3T3 cells immunostained for H3K9me2/3, H3K9me3, H4K8ac, and/or H3K4me3, as indicated. Bars, 5 µm. (B) Confluence-arrested NIH3T3 cells were exposed to 0 or 40 Gy IR and, 1 h later, fractionated into extracts (for a full explanation of each fraction, see Materials and methods) and immunoblotted for the indicated proteins. (C) Confluence-arrested NIH3T3 cells were treated with scrambled (Mock), SNF2H, or RNF20 siRNA and, 48 h later, were irradiated, fractionated and immunoblotted as in B. Red arrows highlight the H3K9me3 signal in the C5 fraction undergoing a dynamic change in response to stimuli.