Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Epigenetics. 2011 Feb;6(2):147-52. doi: 10.4161/epi.6.2.13640. Epub 2011 Feb 1.
The majority of mammalian gene promoters are encompassed within regions of the genome called CpG islands that have an elevated level of non-methylated CpG dinucleotides. Despite over 20 years of study, the precise mechanisms by which CpG islands contribute to regulatory element function remain poorly understood. Recently it has been demonstrated that specific histone modifying enzymes are recruited directly to CpG islands through recognition of non-methylated CpG dinucleotide sequence. These enzymes then impose unique chromatin architecture on CpG islands that distinguish them from the surrounding genome. In the context of this work we discuss how CpG island elements may contribute to the function of gene regulatory elements through the utilization of chromatin and epigenetic processes.
大多数哺乳动物基因启动子都包含在基因组区域内，这些区域被称为 CpG 岛，其中含有高水平的非甲基化 CpG 二核苷酸。尽管经过了 20 多年的研究，但 CpG 岛如何促进调控元件功能的精确机制仍知之甚少。最近已经证明，特定的组蛋白修饰酶可以通过识别非甲基化的 CpG 二核苷酸序列直接募集到 CpG 岛上。然后，这些酶在 CpG 岛上施加独特的染色质结构，使其与周围的基因组区分开来。在这项工作的背景下，我们讨论了 CpG 岛元件如何通过利用染色质和表观遗传过程来促进基因调控元件的功能。
