Brain function and chromatin plasticity.
The characteristics of epigenetic control, including the potential for long-lasting, stable effects on gene expression that outlive an initial transient signal, could be of singular importance for post-mitotic neurons, which are subject to changes with short- to long-lasting influence on their activity and connectivity. Persistent changes in chromatin structure are thought to contribute to mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance. Recent advances in chromatin biology offer new avenues to investigate regulatory mechanisms underlying long-lasting changes in neurons, with direct implications for the study of brain function, behaviour and diseases.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. dulac@fas.harvard.edu
Catherine
C
Dulac
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D019175:DNA Methylation; D018392:Genomic Imprinting; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D040582:Inheritance Patterns; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology
D006657:Histones