Abstract
During ontogeny, cells progress through multiple alternate differentiation states by activating distinct gene regulatory networks. In this review, we highlight the important role of chromatin priming in facilitating gene activation during lineage specification and in maintaining an epigenetic memory of previous gene activation. We show that chromatin priming is part of a hugely diverse repertoire of regulatory mechanisms that genes use to ensure that they are expressed at the correct time, in the correct cell type, and at the correct level, but also that they react to signals. We also emphasize how increasing our knowledge of these principles could inform our understanding of developmental failure and disease.
Highlights
During ontogeny, cells progress through multiple alternate differentiation states by activating distinct gene regulatory networks
Such cells eventually give rise to distinct subsets of functionally specified cells that comprise the organism. To replenish those cells exiting the proliferative state and entering terminal differentiation, stem cell systems have evolved that have acquired the ability to either self-renew or differentiate. All of these processes are under strict transcriptional control and are driven by cell-type-specific, ubiquitous transcription factors (TFs), which recruit epigenetic regulators that modify the chromatin template to facilitate the assembly
Genes that are specific for certain cell types or that encode crucial lineage determining regulators are under strict developmental control
Summary
Cells progress through multiple alternate differentiation states by activating distinct gene regulatory networks. The developmental control of gene expression is a highly dynamic process that involves both the cell-type-specific expression of TFs and the establishment of specific chromatin landscapes presenting a defined target for such factors.
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