Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Markaki Y
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8671326 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Cell 20211104 25
The lncRNA Xist forms ∼50 diffraction-limited foci to transcriptionally silence one X chromosome. How this small number of RNA foci and interacting proteins regulate a much larger number of X-linked genes is unknown. We show that Xist foci are locally confined, contain ∼2 RNA molecules, and nucleate supramolecular complexes (SMACs) that include many copies of the critical silencing protein SPEN. Aggregation and exchange of SMAC proteins generate local protein gradients that regulate broad, proxi ...[more]