title: [Chromatin structure and gene activation].
abstract: Nucleosome is the basic unit of chromatin. Nucleosome repression on gene transcription is a dominant factor in the tissue or cell type specific expression on a gene from the whole genome of an eukaryote. Derepression of chromatin to an open conformation may lead to the promotion of gene transcription. The nature of chromatin remodeling, the role of histone acetyltransferase and deacetylase, the repression mechanisms of chromatin induced by the methylated CpG binding proteins are discussed in this paper. The role of chromatin in the pathogenesis of diseases has attracted broad interests from the clinicians. Cis-elements of chromatin DNA helps defining the functional segments within the genome, which provide indispensable evidences to bio-informatics, and to the linkage between genomics and proteomics. Additionally, in vitro assembly of chromatin from multiple bio-active molecules to display new functions on gene activity indicates the growing importance of integrating studies in life sciences in the coming century.
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, CAMS and PUMC, Beijing 100005, China. shenyf@cdm.imicams.ac.cn
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000123:Acetyltransferases / Q000502:physiology; D002843:Chromatin / Q000737:chemistry*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006655:Histone Deacetylases / Q000502:physiology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D000123:Acetyltransferases; D006655:Histone Deacetylases