Chromatin looping links gene expression to the assembly of transcription factories (Review)

Mol Med Rep. 2024 Jun;29(6):97. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2024.13221. Epub 2024 Apr 12.ABSTRACTGenes are not randomly dispersed within the nuclear space, instead they occupy precise sites either with respect to the nuclear lamina as well as to each other. This observation stands at the basis of the today well accepted concept of nuclear territories where any chromosome shows reproducible spatial connections with a selection of others in a general picture that meets a functional criterion where genes that answer the same stimuli are grouped in the same sites. In fact, transcription is not visible widely dispersed throughout the nucleus but is gathered in several 'granules', called transcription factories that accommodates ~10 genes concurrently transcribed. This dynamic behavior of chromosomes is allowed by changes in chromatin plasticity that are governed by several classes of proteins that either modify its building or induce post‑translational modifications in the protein component of nucleosomes, triggering formation of chromosome loops that modify the location of specific sites along the DNA strand. For example, transcription associated to nuclear receptors benefits of the generation of nuclear ROS that induce nicks following activation of the DNA repair apparatus that enhance helix unfolding and chromosome bridging. In the present review, the role that protocols facing elucidation of chromosome architecture are playing and will play in the near future were highlighted in order ...
Source: Molecular Medicine - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Source Type: research