The α-globin super-enhancer acts in an orientation-dependent manner.

ABSTRACT: Individual enhancers are defined as short genomic regulatory elements, bound by transcription factors, and able to activate cell-specific gene expression at a distance, in an orientation-independent manner. Within mammalian genomes, enhancer-like elements may be found individually or within clusters referred to as locus control regions or super-enhancers (SEs). While these behave similarly to individual enhancers with respect to cell specificity, distribution and distance, their orientation-dependence has not been formally tested. Here, using the α-globin locus as a model, we show that while an individual enhancer works in an orientation-independent manner, the direction of activity of a SE changes with its orientation. When the SE is inverted within its normal chromosomal context, express

SUBMITTER: Kassouf MT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11762767 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature