Transcription regulation through promoter-proximal pausing of RNA polymerase II

Recent work has shown that the RNA polymerase II enzyme pauses at a promoter-proximal site of many genes in Drosophila and mammals. This rate-limiting step occurs after recruitment and initiation of RNA polymerase II at a gene promoter. This stage in early elongation appears to be an important and broadly used target of gene regulation.     

Chemokine gene silencing in decidual stromal cells limits T cell access to the maternal-fetal interface

The chemokine-mediated recruitment of effector T cells to sites of inflammation is a central feature of the immune response. The extent to which chemokine expression levels are limited by the intrinsic developmental characteristics of a tissue has remained unexplored. We show in mice that effector T cells cannot accumulate within the decidua, the specialized stromal tissue encapsulating the fetus and placenta. Impaired accumulation was in part attributable to the epigenetic silencing of key T cell-attracting inflammatory chemokine genes in decidual stromal cells, as evidenced by promoter accrual of repressive histone marks. These findings give insight into mechanisms of fetomaternal immune tolerance, as well as reveal the epigenetic modification of tissue stromal cells as a modality for limiting effector T cell trafficking.     

Protein-DNA interactions in vivo upstream of a cell cycle-regulated human H4 histone gene

Cell cycle-dependent histone genes are transcribed at a basal level throughout the cell cycle, with a three- to fivefold increase during early S phase. Protein-DNA interactions in the 5' promoter region of a cell cycle-regulated human H4 histone gene have been analyzed at single-nucleotide resolution in vivo. This region contains two sites, with four potential protein-binding domains, at which the DNA is protected from reaction with dimethyl sulfate in cells and from digestion with deoxyribonuclease I in nuclei. These protein-DNA interactions persist during all phases of the cell cycle and dissociate with 0.16 to 0.2M sodium chloride.     

真核生物启动子TATA-box·GC-box和CAAT-box的分析

下载了已经通过试验证实的2 541条真核生物启动子序列,运用生物信息学方法分析了TATA-box、GC-box和CAAT-box的数量及其在启动子中的分布情况。结果表明,有23.85%真核生物启动子序列中至少有1个TATA-box,且TATA-box主要分布在转录起始位点前24~36 bp的区域内;有47.30%真核生物启动子序列中至少有1个GC-box,且GC-box在转录起始位点前23~128 bp的区域内分布比较集中;有42.35%真核生物启动子序列中至少有1个CAAT-box,且CAAT-box在转录起始位点前51~159 bp的区域内分布比较集中。这说明TATA-box在真核生物启动子中的位置比较固定,对基因转录的正确起始可能起着重要的作用;而GC-box和CAAT-box分布区域较广,数量也明显多于TATA-box。     

A circadian rhythm orchestrated by histone deacetylase 3 controls hepatic lipid metabolism

Disruption of the circadian clock exacerbates metabolic diseases, including obesity and diabetes. We show that histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) recruitment to the genome displays a circadian rhythm in mouse liver. Histone acetylation is inversely related to HDAC3 binding, and this rhythm is lost when HDAC3 is absent. Although amounts of HDAC3 are constant, its genomic recruitment in liver corresponds to the expression pattern of the circadian nuclear receptor Rev-erbα. Rev-erbα colocalizes with HDAC3 near genes regulating lipid metabolism, and deletion of HDAC3 or Rev-erbα in mouse liver causes hepatic steatosis. Thus, genomic recruitment of HDAC3 by Rev-erbα directs a circadian rhythm of histone acetylation and gene expression required for normal hepatic lipid homeostasis.