Tonon: Lecture VI Flashcards
Enhancers, Super-Enhancers, and New Technologies
What are enhancers?
sequences that are usually upstream the promoter (not always though)
located distally from transcription start sites
bound by an activator, TF, and RNA polymerase
cause the loop formation between the enhancer sequence and promoter to begin translation
bind various components, such as acetyl-transferases p300 and CBP
harbour 2 histone modifications, H3Kme1 and H3K27ac
regulate multiple genes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq8PAM5Sa0s
What kind of specificity do enhancer loops exhibit?
tissue-specificity
How do enhancers bind to TF?
due to specific motifs located on TF and enhancers
Enhancers hold many nucleotide variations associated with ______________.
genetic diseases
Enhancers do not have histones; however there are some regions that have histones: what happens if histones are present?
enhancers are shut down, like a promoter
active promoter histone marks
H3K4me3
H3K27ac
inactive promoter histone marks
K3K27me3
active enhancer histone marks
H3K4me1
H3K27ac
inactive enhancer histone marks
H3K27me3
What is important to note about me3 (3 methylations)?
it is always negative as it represses transcription
What is the histone modification for compact heterochromatin?
H3K9me3
What is the histone mark for open or closed enhancers?
H3K4me1 (active enhancer)
H3K27me3 (repressed enhancer)
Are RNAs expressed on enhancers?
yes, in both directions
What is the name of RNA transcribed from enhancers?
eRNA
What is the probable job of eRNAs?
increase transcription of corresponding genes
from the slides: promote mRNA synthesis
What are super-enhancers?
much bigger enhancers described as “key cell identity genes”
How did they find super-enhancers?
by evaluating the Med1 (protein that binds to enhancers) density
Med1 signal was very strong corresponding to super-enhancers
What is the size of an enhancer site and a super-enhancer site?
700bp and 9000bp, respectively
What is the mechanism of action of super-enhancers?
super-enhancers → many proteins bind →transcription of a downstream gene is upregulated → increased gene expression
What are some genes under the control of super-enhancers?
Oct4
Sox2
Nanog
Myc
chromatin-modifying genes
What is Myc (gene controlled by super-enhancers) involved in?
tumors like multiple myeloma
What is a protein involved in the machinery that forms super-enhancers?
Brd4
Myc is under the control of super-enhancers. In a study, there was the discovery of Brd4’s protein, bromodomain. Why was this discovery important?
it was found that dromodomain could disrupt the looping between Brd4 and Myc
What is the Waddington Model?
cells can take different trajectories leading to different outcomes and there are components that work together to provide an epigenetic landscape of cells and tissues