Polycomb- and REST-associated histone deacetylases are independent pathways toward a mature neuronal phenotype.

ABSTRACT: The bivalent hypothesis posits that genes encoding developmental regulators required for early lineage decisions are poised in stem/progenitor cells by the balance between a repressor histone modification (H3K27me3), mediated by the Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2), and an activator modification (H3K4me3). In this study, we test whether this mechanism applies equally to genes that are not required until terminal differentiation. We focus on the RE1 Silencing Transcription Factor (REST) because it is expressed highly in stem cells and is an established global repressor of terminal neuronal genes. Elucidation of the REST complex, and comparison of chromatin marks and gene expression levels in control and REST-deficient stem cells, shows that REST target genes are poised by a mechanism ind

SUBMITTER: McGann JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4371837 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature