title: Enhancer and promoter interactions-long distance calls.
abstract: In metazoans, enhancers of gene transcription must often exert their effects over tens of kilobases of DNA. Over the past decade it has become clear that to do this, enhancers come into close proximity with target promoters with the looping away of intervening sequences. In a few cases proteins that are involved in the establishment or maintenance of these loops have been revealed but how the proper gene target is selected remains mysterious. Chromatin insulators had been appreciated as elements that play a role in enhancer fidelity through their enhancer blocking or barrier activity. However, recent work suggests more direct participation of insulators in enhancer-gene interactions. The emerging view begins to incorporate transcription activation by distant enhancers with large scale nuclear architecture and subnuclear movement.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cellular and Developmental Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20982, United States.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Krivega
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dean
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000235:genetics; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
chemical_list: D022661:RNA, Untranslated