Sex chromosome inactivation in germ cells: emerging roles of DNA damage response pathways

Sex chromosome inactivation in male germ cells is a paradigm of epigenetic programming during sexual reproduction. Recent progress has revealed the underlying mechanisms of sex chromosome inactivation in male meiosis. The trigger of chromosome-wide silencing is activation of the DNA damage response...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS 2012-08, Vol.69 (15), p.2559-2572
Main Authors: Ichijima, Yosuke, Sin, Ho-Su, Namekawa, Satoshi H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biochemistry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cell Biology
DNA Damage - genetics
DNA Damage - physiology
DNA Repair
Epigenesis, Genetic
Female
Germ Cells - metabolism
Histones - metabolism
Humans
Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins - genetics
Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins - metabolism
Life Sciences
Male
Meiosis - genetics
Meiosis - physiology
Models, Biological
Models, Genetic
Review
Signal Transduction
X Chromosome Inactivation - genetics
X Chromosome Inactivation - physiology
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Summary:Sex chromosome inactivation in male germ cells is a paradigm of epigenetic programming during sexual reproduction. Recent progress has revealed the underlying mechanisms of sex chromosome inactivation in male meiosis. The trigger of chromosome-wide silencing is activation of the DNA damage response (DDR) pathway, which is centered on the mediator of DNA damage checkpoint 1 (MDC1), a binding partner of phosphorylated histone H2AX (γH2AX). This DDR pathway shares features with the somatic DDR pathway recognizing DNA replication stress in the S phase. Additionally, it is likely to be distinct from the DDR pathway that recognizes meiosis-specific double-strand breaks. This review article extensively discusses the underlying mechanism of sex chromosome inactivation.
ISSN:1420-682X
1420-9071
DOI:10.1007/s00018-012-0941-5