The Snail repressor recruits EZH2 to specific genomic sites through the enrollment of the lncRNA HOTAIR in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

ABSTRACT: The transcription factor Snail is a master regulator of cellular identity and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) directly repressing a broad repertoire of epithelial genes. How chromatin modifiers instrumental to its activity are recruited to Snail-specific binding sites is unclear. Here we report that the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) HOTAIR (for HOX Transcript Antisense Intergenic RNA) mediates a physical interaction between Snail and enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), an enzymatic subunit of the polycomb-repressive complex 2 and the main writer of chromatin-repressive marks. The Snail-repressive activity, here monitored on genes with a pivotal function in epithelial and hepatic morphogenesis, differentiation and cell-type identity, depends on the formation of a tripartite Snail/

SUBMITTER: Battistelli C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5318668 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature