title: Cohesin biology meets the loop extrusion model.
abstract: Extensive research has revealed that cohesin acts as a topological device, trapping chromosomal DNA within a large tripartite ring. In so doing, cohesin contributes to the formation of compact and organized genomes. How exactly the cohesin subunits interact, how it opens, closes, and translocates on chromatin, and how it actually tethers DNA strands together are still being elucidated. A comprehensive understanding of these questions will shed light on how cohesin performs its many functions, including its recently proposed role as a chromatid loop extruder. Here, we discuss this possibility in light of our understanding of the molecular properties of cohesin complexes.
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Cancer Biology, Cancer Institute, University College London, 72 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barrington
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Cancer Biology, Cancer Institute, University College London, 72 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Finn
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Cancer Biology, Cancer Institute, University College London, 72 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK. s.hadjur@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Suzana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hadjur
mesh_terms: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002842:Chromatids / Q000378:metabolism*; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016678:Genome; D000097722:Cohesins
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002868:Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone; D000097722:Cohesins
keywords: CTCF; Chromosomal domain; Cohesin; Loop extrusion