Insights into the Establishment of Chromatin States in Pluripotent Cells from Studies of X Inactivation

Animal development entails the sequential and coordinated specialization of cells. During cell differentiation, transcription factors, cell signaling pathways, and chromatin-associated protein complexes cooperate in regulating the expression of a large number of genes. Here, we review the present un...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of molecular biology 2017-05, Vol.429 (10), p.1521-1531
Main Authors: Postlmayr, Andreas, Wutz, Anton
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
animal development
Animals
Cell Differentiation
chromatin
Chromatin - metabolism
Cytological Techniques
gene regulation
Humans
Microscopy
noncoding RNA
pluripotent stem cell
Pluripotent Stem Cells - physiology
X Chromosome Inactivation
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Summary:Animal development entails the sequential and coordinated specialization of cells. During cell differentiation, transcription factors, cell signaling pathways, and chromatin-associated protein complexes cooperate in regulating the expression of a large number of genes. Here, we review the present understanding of the establishment of chromatin states by focusing on X chromosome inactivation (XCI) as a model for facultative heterochromatin formation in female embryonic cells. The inactive X chromosome is large enough to be investigated by biochemical and microscopy techniques. In addition, the ability to compare the inactivated chromatin to the active X in male cells enables us to differentiate events specific to gene silencing during XCI from gene regulatory effects from changing pathways in the same cell. Findings in XCI are useful as blueprints for investigation of the action of epigenetic pathways in differentiation and lineage commitment. We summarize recent studies that have identified factors that are critical for chromosome-wide gene repression in XCI, and we discuss their implications for epigenetic regulation in pluripotent cells of the early embryo. [Display omitted] •Model for integration of transcription factor networks, noncoding regulatory RNAs, and chromatin modulatory pathways in lineage differentiation•Recent progress in understanding the mechanism of X chromosome inactivation•Review of the embryonic function of genes involved in X inactivation•Overview of similarities and differences in establishing X inactivation in mouse and human embryos
ISSN:0022-2836
1089-8638
DOI:10.1016/j.jmb.2017.03.013