Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
Nature. 2010 Jun 10;465(7299):728-35. doi: 10.1038/nature09231.
The characteristics of epigenetic control, including the potential for long-lasting, stable effects on gene expression that outlive an initial transient signal, could be of singular importance for post-mitotic neurons, which are subject to changes with short- to long-lasting influence on their activity and connectivity. Persistent changes in chromatin structure are thought to contribute to mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance. Recent advances in chromatin biology offer new avenues to investigate regulatory mechanisms underlying long-lasting changes in neurons, with direct implications for the study of brain function, behaviour and diseases.
表观遗传控制的特征,包括对基因表达产生持久、稳定影响的潜力,这种影响超出了初始瞬时信号的持续时间,这对于有丝分裂后神经元可能具有重要意义,因为它们的活动和连接会受到短期到长期的影响。染色质结构的持久变化被认为有助于表观遗传遗传的机制。染色质生物学的最新进展为研究神经元中持久变化的调节机制提供了新的途径,这对大脑功能、行为和疾病的研究有直接影响。