Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-25-2023
Published In
Cell Reports
Abstract
XIST RNA triggers chromosome-wide gene silencing and condenses an active chromosome into a Barr body. Here, we use inducible human XIST to examine early steps in the process, showing that XIST modifies cytoarchitecture before widespread gene silencing. In just 2–4 h, barely visible transcripts populate the large “sparse zone” surrounding the smaller “dense zone”; importantly, density zones exhibit different chromatin impacts. Sparse transcripts immediately trigger immunofluorescence for H2AK119ub and CIZ1, a matrix protein. H3K27me3 appears hours later in the dense zone, which enlarges with chromosome condensation. Genes examined are silenced after compaction of the RNA/DNA territory. Insights into this come from the findings that the A-repeat alone can silence genes and rapidly, but only where dense RNA supports sustained histone deacetylation. We propose that sparse XIST RNA quickly impacts architectural elements to condense the largely non-coding chromosome, coalescing RNA density that facilitates an unstable, A-repeat-dependent step required for gene silencing.
Keywords
XIST, A-Repeat, CIZ1, chromosome structure, H3K27, UbH2A, heterochromatin, Barr body, epigenetics, transcription
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
M. Valledor, M. Byron, B. Dumas, Dawn M. Carone, L. L. Hall, and J. B. Lawrence.
(2023).
"Early Chromosome Condensation By XIST Builds A-Repeat RNA Density That Facilitates Gene Silencing".
Cell Reports.
Volume 42,
Issue 7.
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112686
https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-biology/653
Comments
This work is freely available under a Creative Commons license.