Enhancer selectivity in space and time: from enhancer-promoter interactions to promoter activation.

ABSTRACT: The primary regulators of metazoan gene expression are enhancers, originally functionally defined as DNA sequences that can activate transcription at promoters in an orientation-independent and distance-independent manner. Despite being crucial for gene regulation in animals, what mechanisms underlie enhancer selectivity for promoters, and more fundamentally, how enhancers interact with promoters and activate transcription, remain poorly understood. In this Review, we first discuss current models of enhancer-promoter interactions in space and time and how enhancers affect transcription activation. Next, we discuss different mechanisms that mediate enhancer selectivity, including repression, biochemical compatibility and regulation of 3D genome structure. Through 3D polymer simulations, we

SUBMITTER: Yang JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11574175 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature