Developmental fate and cellular maturity encoded in human regulatory DNA landscapes.

ABSTRACT: Cellular-state information between generations of developing cells may be propagated via regulatory regions. We report consistent patterns of gain and loss of DNase I-hypersensitive sites (DHSs) as cells progress from embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to terminal fates. DHS patterns alone convey rich information about cell fate and lineage relationships distinct from information conveyed by gene expression. Developing cells share a proportion of their DHS landscapes with ESCs; that proportion decreases continuously in each cell type as differentiation progresses, providing a quantitative benchmark of developmental maturity. Developmentally stable DHSs densely encode binding sites for transcription factors involved in autoregulatory feedback circuits. In contrast to normal cells, cancer cells ext

SUBMITTER: Stergachis AB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3962256 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature