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Open AccessJournal ArticleDOI

Insulators: exploiting transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms

Miklos Gaszner, +1 more
- 01 Sep 2006 - 
- Vol. 7, Iss: 9, pp 703-713
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TLDR
New insights suggest that the mechanisms of action of both enhancer blockers and barriers might not be unique to these types of element, but instead are adaptations of other gene-regulatory mechanisms.
Abstract
Insulators are DNA sequence elements that prevent inappropriate interactions between adjacent chromatin domains. One type of insulator establishes domains that separate enhancers and promoters to block their interaction, whereas a second type creates a barrier against the spread of heterochromatin. Recent studies have provided important advances in our understanding of the modes of action of both types of insulator. These new insights also suggest that the mechanisms of action of both enhancer blockers and barriers might not be unique to these types of element, but instead are adaptations of other gene-regulatory mechanisms.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI

High-resolution profiling of histone methylations in the human genome.

TL;DR: High-resolution maps for the genome-wide distribution of 20 histone lysine and arginine methylations as well as histone variant H2A.Z, RNA polymerase II, and the insulator binding protein CTCF across the human genome using the Solexa 1G sequencing technology are generated.
Journal ArticleDOI

A 3D Map of the Human Genome at Kilobase Resolution Reveals Principles of Chromatin Looping

TL;DR: In situ Hi-C is used to probe the 3D architecture of genomes, constructing haploid and diploid maps of nine cell types, identifying ∼10,000 loops that frequently link promoters and enhancers, correlate with gene activation, and show conservation across cell types and species.
Journal ArticleDOI

The accessible chromatin landscape of the human genome

TL;DR: The first extensive map of human DHSs identified through genome-wide profiling in 125 diverse cell and tissue types is presented, revealing novel relationships between chromatin accessibility, transcription, DNA methylation and regulatory factor occupancy patterns.
Journal ArticleDOI

Transposable elements and the epigenetic regulation of the genome.

TL;DR: New insights have been gained into how silencing in eukaryotic cells has been co-opted to serve essential functions in 'host' cells, highlighting the importance of TEs in the epigenetic regulation of the genome.
Journal ArticleDOI

Transcription factors: from enhancer binding to developmental control.

TL;DR: Current knowledge of transcription factor function from genomic and genetic studies is reviewed and how different strategies, including extensive cooperative regulation, progressive priming of regulatory elements, and the integration of activities from multiple enhancers, confer specificity and robustness to transcriptional regulation during development are discussed.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Regulation of heterochromatic silencing and histone H3 lysine-9 methylation by RNAi.

TL;DR: It is proposed that double-stranded RNA arising from centromeric repeats targets formation and maintenance of heterochromatin through RNAi.
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Methylation of a CTCF-dependent boundary controls imprinted expression of the Igf2 gene

TL;DR: The results reveal that DNA methylation can control gene expression by modulating enhancer access to the gene promoter through regulation of an enhancer boundary.
Journal ArticleDOI

CTCF mediates methylation-sensitive enhancer-blocking activity at the H19/Igf2 locus

TL;DR: It is shown that CTCF, a zinc finger protein implicated in vertebrate boundary function, binds to several sites in the unmethylated imprinted-control region that are essential for enhancer blocking, the first example, to the authors' knowledge, of a regulated chromatin boundary in vertebrates.
Journal ArticleDOI

The Protein CTCF Is Required for the Enhancer Blocking Activity of Vertebrate Insulators

TL;DR: A 42 bp fragment of the chicken beta-globin insulator is identified that is both necessary and sufficient for enhancer blocking activity in human cells and suggests that directional enhancerblocking by CTCF is a conserved component of gene regulation in vertebrates.
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