SPEN integrates transcriptional and epigenetic control of X-inactivation.

ABSTRACT: Xist represents a paradigm for the function of long non-coding RNA in epigenetic regulation, although how it mediates X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) remains largely unexplained. Several proteins that bind to Xist RNA have recently been identified, including the transcriptional repressor SPEN^1-3, the loss of which has been associated with deficient XCI at multiple loci^2-6. Here we show in mice that SPEN is a key orchestrator of XCI in vivo and we elucidate its mechanism of action. We show that SPEN is essential for initiating gene silencing on the X chromosome in preimplantation mouse embryos and in embryonic stem cells. SPEN is dispensable for maintenance of XCI in neural progenitors, although it significantly decreases the expression of genes that escape XCI. We sho

SUBMITTER: Dossin F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7035112 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature