title: Assembly of silent chromatin during thymocyte development.
abstract: Epigenetic events that contribute to the assembly and maintenance of silent chromatin structures have been defined through genetic, molecular, and cytological studies in a variety of eukaryotic model organisms. However, the precise cascade of events responsible for converting a developmentally regulated gene from an active euchromatic state to a heritably silent heterochromatic state remains to be elucidated. To establish a molecular framework for studying this cascade, we examined the temporal order of events associated with silencing of the murine terminal transferase (Dntt) gene during thymocyte maturation. This article describes our findings in the context of current knowledge of gene silencing mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: Ruey-Chyi
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Rupa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sridharan
authors.forename: Stephen T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Smale
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002503:Centromere / Q000378:metabolism; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D018899:CpG Islands / Q000235:genetics; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D020868:Gene Silencing; D051740:Ikaros Transcription Factor; D051379:Mice; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D002843:Chromatin; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C436745:DNTTIP1 protein, human; C499052:Dnttip1 protein, mouse; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C497238:Zfpn1a1 protein, mouse; D051740:Ikaros Transcription Factor