title: Chromatin remodeling effects on enhancer activity.
abstract: During organism development, a diversity of cell types emerges with disparate, yet stable profiles of gene expression with distinctive cellular functions. In addition to gene promoters, the genome contains enhancer regulatory sequences, which are implicated in cellular specialization by facilitating cell-type and tissue-specific gene expression. Enhancers are DNA binding elements characterized by highly sophisticated and various mechanisms of action allowing for the specific interaction of general and tissue-specific transcription factors (TFs). However, eukaryotic organisms package their genetic material into chromatin, generating a physical barrier for TFs to interact with their cognate sequences. The ability of TFs to bind DNA regulatory elements is also modulated by changes in the chromatin structure, including histone modifications, histone variants, ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling, and the methylation status of DNA. Furthermore, it has recently been revealed that enhancer sequences are also transcribed into a set of enhancer RNAs with regulatory potential. These interdependent processes act in the context of a complex network of chromatin interactions, which together contributes to a renewed vision of how gene activation is coordinated in a cell-type-dependent manner. In this review, we describe the interplay between genetic and epigenetic aspects associated with enhancers and discuss their possible roles on enhancer function.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética Molecular, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, Mexico City, México.
authors.forename: Estela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: García-González
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York City, NY, 10027, USA.
authors.forename: Martín
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Escamilla-Del-Arenal
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética Molecular, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, Mexico City, México.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arzate-Mejía
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética Molecular, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, Mexico City, México. frecilla@ifc.unam.mx.
authors.forename: Félix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Recillas-Targa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; D019175:DNA Methylation; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D042421:Histone Code; D006801:Humans; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015533:Transcriptional Activation
chemical_list: D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding; D014157:Transcription Factors
keywords: CTCF; Chromatin; Enhancer; Enhancer RNA; Histone modifications; Non-coding RNAs; Promoter; Topological associating domains