Endogenous Retroviral Sequences Behave as Putative Enhancers Controlling Gene Expression through HP1-Regulated Long-Range Chromatin Interactions.

ABSTRACT: About half of the mammalian genome is constituted of repeated elements, among which endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are known to influence gene expression and cancer development. The HP1 (Heterochromatin Protein 1) proteins are known to be essential for heterochromatin establishment and function and its loss in hepatocytes leads to the reactivation of specific ERVs and to liver tumorigenesis. Here, by studying two ERVs located upstream of genes upregulated upon loss of HP1, Mbd1 and Trim24, we show that these HP1-dependent ERVs behave as either alternative promoters or as putative enhancers forming a loop with promoters of endogenous genes depending on the genomic context and HP1 expression level. These ERVs are characterised by a specific HP1-independent enrichment in heteroc

SUBMITTER: Calvet S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9368123 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature