Epigenetic regulation through chromatin is thought to play a critical role in the establishment and maintenance of pluripotency. Traditionally, antibody-based technologies were used to probe for specific posttranslational modifications (PTMs) present on histone tails, but these methods do not generally reveal the presence of multiple modifications on a single-histone tail (combinatorial codes). Here, we describe technology for the discovery and quantification of histone combinatorial codes that is based on chromatography and mass spectrometry. We applied this methodology to decipher 74 discrete combinatorial codes on the tail of histone H4 from human embryonic stem (ES) cells. Finally, we quantified the abundances of these codes as human ES cells undergo differentiation to reveal striking changes in methylation and acetylation patterns. For example, H4R3 methylation was observed only in the presence of H4K20 dimethylation; such context-specific patterning exemplifies the power of this technique.electron transfer dissociation ͉ epigenetics ͉ posttranslational modification ͉ histone code ͉ pluripotency P luripotency-the ability to differentiate into any specialized lineage-is the hallmark of embryonic stem (ES) cells and the basis for their experimental and therapeutic potential. The precise molecular mechanisms that define pluripotency remain elusive; however, a number of recent works suggest a central role for epigenetic regulation through chromatin (1-6). Either by recruiting or shielding certain factors, modifications on histone proteins modulate a gene's local environment and thereby regulate expression (7-12). Concerted changes in histone modification states occur during differentiation (13). For example, high levels of histone H3 and H4 acetylation are characteristic of pluripotent cells in mice and the abundance of these marks decreases during differentiation (14, 15). Methylation of R2, R17, and R26 of histone H3 by CARM1 also correlates with cell fate and potency (6). Cells with higher levels of methylation, at these residues, were enriched in the embryonic part of the blastocyst. Next, specific patterns of histone H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 are observed at promoter regions of genes that are regulated during differentiation (1, 2). Finally, demethylation of H3K27me3 is required for activation of certain HOX genes essential for proper development (16,17). The demethylase responsible interacts directly with MLL 2/3 complexes, which methylate histone H3K4 (18). Taken together these experiments have shed new light on the power of epigenetic regulation within ES cells; however, the precise details and role(s) of such combinatorial PTM patterns remain largely unknown.Technological limitations in our ability to discover and quantify combinatorial histone PTMs has, and continues to, present a major obstacle. Most of our knowledge of epigenetics has been derived by antibody-based approaches. Antibodies require a priori knowledge of individual modifications, are subject to epitope occlusion, and have difficulty distingu...