title: Nuclear architecture: Is it important for genome function and can we prove it?
abstract: Gene regulation in higher eukaryotes has been shown to involve regulatory sites, such as promoters and enhancers which act at the level of individual genes, and mechanisms which control the functional state of gene clusters. A fundamental question is whether additional levels of genome control exist. Nuclear organization and large-scale chromatin structure may constitute such a level and play an important role in the cell-type specific orchestration of the expression of thousands of genes in eukaryotic cells. Numerous observations indicate a tight correlation between genome activity and nuclear and large-scale chromatin structure. However, causal relationships are rare. Here we explore how these might be uncovered.
authors.affiliation: Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mateos-Langerak
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goetze
authors.forename: Heinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leonhardt
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cremer
authors.forename: Roel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van Driel
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lanctôt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D016678:Genome; D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D015530:Nuclear Matrix / Q000378:metabolism