title: Gracefully ageing at 50, X-chromosome inactivation becomes a paradigm for RNA and chromatin control.
abstract: The discovery of X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) celebrated its golden anniversary this year. Originally offered as an explanation for the establishment of genetic equality between males and females, 50 years on, XCI presents more than a curious gender-based phenomenon that causes silencing of sex chromosomes. How have the mysteries of XCI unfolded? And what general lessons can be extracted? Several of the cell biological mechanisms that are used to establish the inactive X chromosome, including regulatory networks of non-coding RNAs and unusual nuclear dynamics, are now suspected to hold true for processes occurring on a genome-wide scale.
authors: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA. lee@molbio.mgh.harvard.edu
authors: Jeannie T
authors: JT
authors: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics*; D016678:Genome; D006801:Humans; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics*; D049951:X Chromosome Inactivation
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D012313:RNA