The genome in three dimensions: a new frontier in human brain research.

ABSTRACT: Less than 1.5% of the human genome encodes protein. However, vast portions of the human genome are subject to transcriptional and epigenetic regulation, and many noncoding regulatory DNA elements are thought to regulate the spatial organization of interphase chromosomes. For example, chromosomal "loopings" are pivotal for the orderly process of gene expression, by enabling distal regulatory enhancer or silencer elements to directly interact with proximal promoter and transcription start sites, potentially bypassing hundreds of kilobases of interspersed sequence on the linear genome. To date, however, epigenetic studies in the human brain are mostly limited to the exploration of DNA methylation and posttranslational modifications of the nucleosome core histones. In contrast, very little is

SUBMITTER: Mitchell AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3925763 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature