title: Chromatin dynamics and locus accessibility in the immune system.
abstract: Development in vertebrates follows distinctive pathways of cellular differentiation. Starting from the zygote, newly formed cells continually differentiate until they reach a final mature fate. Whether differentiating into a neuron, a hepatocyte or a myofibril, every normal cell, with the exception of developing lymphocytes, carries the same genetic information enclosed within its nucleus. To acquire distinct cellular identities, cells need to control gene expression in a very regulated way. Genes encoding factors required for identity at a particular developmental stage need to be appropriately activated, whereas genes required for identity during the previous developmental stage are often silenced. Moreover, once a cell becomes terminally differentiated, 'heritable' gene expression must be maintained in all daughter cells and, thus, faithfully recapitulated after each cellular division.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Children's Hospital, Center for Blood Research, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Raul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mostoslavsky
authors.forename: Frederick W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Alt
authors.forename: Craig H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Bassing
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D002843:Chromatin / Q000502:physiology*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D015321:Gene Rearrangement; D020868:Gene Silencing; D005803:Genes, Immunoglobulin; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000502:physiology*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin