Centre de Biochimie Structurale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Institut National de la Santé et la Recherche Médicale, 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090, Montpellier, France.
Nucleus. 2011 Sep-Oct;2(5):358-69. doi: 10.4161/nucl.2.5.17860. Epub 2011 Sep 1.
Eukaryotic chromosomes are condensed into several hierarchical levels of complexity: DNA is wrapped around core histones to form nucleosomes, nucleosomes form a higher-order structure called chromatin, and chromatin is subsequently compartmentalized in part by the combination of multiple specific or unspecific long-range contacts. The conformation of chromatin at these three levels greatly influences DNA metabolism and transcription. One class of chromatin regulatory proteins called insulator factors may organize chromatin both locally, by setting up barriers between heterochromatin and euchromatin, and globally by establishing platforms for long-range interactions. Here, we review recent data revealing a global role of insulator proteins in the regulation of transcription through the formation of clusters of long-range interactions that impact different levels of chromatin organization.
DNA 缠绕在核心组蛋白周围形成核小体，核小体形成称为染色质的高级结构，染色质随后通过多种特定或非特定长距离接触的组合部分分隔。这三个层次上的染色质构象极大地影响了 DNA 代谢和转录。一类称为绝缘子因子的染色质调节蛋白可以通过在异染色质和常染色质之间建立障碍来局部组织染色质，也可以通过建立长距离相互作用的平台来全局组织染色质。在这里，我们回顾了最近的数据，这些数据揭示了绝缘子蛋白在通过形成影响不同层次染色质组织的长距离相互作用簇来调节转录方面的全局作用。
