Chromosomes are folded and compacted in interphase nuclei, but the molecular basis of this folding is poorly understood. Chromosome conformation capture methods, such as Hi-C, combine chemical crosslinking of chromatin with fragmentation, DNA ligation, and high-throughput DNA sequencing to detect neighboring loci genome-wide. Hi-C has revealed the segregation of chromatin into active and inactive compartments and the folding of DNA into self-associating domains and loops. Depletion of CTCF, cohesin, or cohesin-associated proteins was recently shown to affect the majority of domains and loops in a manner that is consistent with a model of DNA folding through extrusion of chromatin loops. Compartmentation was not dependent on CTCF or cohesin. Hi-C contact maps represent the superimposition of CTCF/cohesin-dependent and -independent folding states.

染色体在相间核中折叠并压缩，但这种折叠的分子基础了解得很少。染色体构象捕获方法（例如Hi-C）将染色质的化学交联与片段化，DNA连接和高通量DNA测序相结合，以检测整个基因组范围内的相邻基因座。Hi-C揭示了染色质分离为有活性和无活性的区室，以及DNA折叠成自缔合域和环的过程。最近显示，CTCF，黏附素或黏附素相关蛋白的耗竭以与通过染色质环挤出形成的DNA折叠模型一致的方式影响大多数结构域和环。隔室不依赖于CTCF或粘着蛋白。Hi-C接触图表示CTCF /黏附素依赖性和非依赖性折叠状态的叠加。