Epigenetic flexibility underlying lineage choices in the adaptive immune system.
Although fundamental models have emerged in recent years describing how chromatin and transcription regulation interface with one another in the developing immune system, the order of events and their biological impact are still being resolved. Recent advances have provided a flexible, rather than static, view of chromatin regulation to reveal how both positive and negative forces work concomitantly to establish specific chromatin structures and regulate gene expression. The challenge will now be to explore new epigenetic models and validate them during lymphocyte development, with the ultimate goal of unraveling the long-sought mechanisms that support the emerging complexity of the adaptive immune response.
Molecular Immunology, Medical Research Council (MRC) National Institute for Medical Research, The Ridgeway, London NW7 1AA, UK. dkiouss@nimr.mrc.ac.uk
Dimitris
D
Kioussis
Katia
K
Georgopoulos
D000818:Animals; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D020868:Gene Silencing; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D038041:Lymphopoiesis; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D002843:Chromatin