A discrete region of the D4Z4 is sufficient to initiate epigenetic silencing.

ABSTRACT: The DUX4 transcription factor is briefly expressed in the early embryo and is epigenetically repressed in somatic tissues. Loss of epigenetic repression can result in the aberrant expression of DUX4 in skeletal muscle and can cause facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD). Multiple factors have been identified as necessary to maintain epigenetic silencing of DUX4 in skeletal muscle, but whether specific sequences at the DUX4 locus are sufficient for initiating epigenetic silencing has not been known. We cloned fragments of the D4Z4 macrosatellite repeat, the DNA region that encompasses the DUX4 retrogene, adjacent to a reporter driven by a constitutive promoter and identified a single fragment sufficient to epigenetically repress reporter gene expression. Previously identified repressors of DU

SUBMITTER: Paatela EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12409625 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature