Lamin A/C directs nucleosome-scale chromatin remodeling to define early lineage segregation in mammals

Abstract

Chromatin organization underlies gene regulation and cell fate specification, yet how nucleosome-scale chromatin structure contributes to lineage segregation during early development remains unknown. Here, we resolved chromatin ultrastructure during the first lineage decision in mouse and human, which forms the pluripotent inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE). To achieve this, we developed dual-tilt chromatin electron tomography (2T-ChromEMT) that allows multiscale visualization of chromatin architecture. Our analysis reveals that TE cells of both species display denser chromatin with nucleosome aggregation at the nuclear periphery. We show upregulation of the nuclear matrix protein Lamin A/C within the TE lineage across mouse, human, and opossum embryos, indicating that its regulatory role is conserved across eutherian and marsupial species. Loss of Lamin A/C reduces heterochromatin at the nuclear lamina in TE cells, reactivates pluripotency genes, and impairs mouse blastocyst expansion and human blastoid formation. These findings define the nucleosome-resolution chromatin signatures of early mammalian lineages and establish Lamin A/C-mediated chromatin organization as a conserved mechanism in the exit from pluripotency and maintenance of trophectoderm identity.