Harrison Reed E S, Weng Kegui, Wang Yingxiao, Peng Qin
Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Institute of Engineering in Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Curr Opin Solid State Mater Sci. 2021 Feb;25(1). doi: 10.1016/j.cossms.2020.100892. Epub 2020 Dec 23.
Liquid-liquid phase separation is increasingly recognized as a phenomenon that affects cell behavior. For example, phase separation of transcription factors and coactivators has been shown to drive efficient transcription. For many years, phase separation of intracellular components has been observed; however, only recently have researchers been able to garner functional significance from such events. Inspired from recent literature that describes phase separation of chromatin in a histone-dependent manner, we review the role and effect of phase separation and histone epigenetics in regulating the genome and discuss how these phenomena can be leveraged to control cell behavior.
液-液相分离越来越被认为是一种影响细胞行为的现象。例如,转录因子和共激活因子的相分离已被证明能驱动高效转录。多年来,人们一直在观察细胞内成分的相分离;然而,直到最近研究人员才能够从这些事件中获得功能上的意义。受最近描述染色质以组蛋白依赖方式进行相分离的文献启发,我们综述了相分离和组蛋白表观遗传学在调控基因组中的作用和影响,并讨论了如何利用这些现象来控制细胞行为。