http://www.cell.com/article/S109727652101025X/pdf

Distal and proximal cis-regulatory elements sense X chromosome dosage and developmental state at the Xist locus

Early in development, placental and marsupial mammals harbouring at least two X chromosomes per nucleus are faced with a choice that affects the rest of their lives: which of those X chromosomes to transcriptionally inactivate. This choice underlies phenotypical diversity in the composition of tissues and organs and in their response to the environment, and can determine whether an individual will be healthy or affected by an X-linked disease. Here, we review our current understanding of the process of choice during X-chromosome inactivation and its implications, focusing on the strategies evolved by different mammalian lineages and on the known and unknown molecular mechanisms and players involved.

/pdf/mechanisms-of-choice-in-x-chromosome-inactivation-1uzx82eo.pdf

Mechanisms of Choice in X-Chromosome Inactivation

Developmental genes such as Xist, the master regulator of X-chromosome inactivation (XCI), are controlled by complex cis-regulatory landscapes, which decode multiple signals to establish specific spatio-temporal expression patterns. Xist integrates information on X-chromosomal dosage and developmental stage to trigger XCI at the primed pluripotent state in females only. Through a pooled CRISPR interference screen in differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells, we identify functional enhancer elements of Xist during the onset of random XCI. By quantifying how enhancer activity is modulated by X-dosage and differentiation, we find that X-dosage controls the promoter-proximal region in a binary switch-like manner. By contrast, differentiation cues activate a series of distal elements and bring them into closer spatial proximity of the Xist promoter. The strongest distal element is part of an enhancer cluster ∼200 kb upstream of the Xist gene which is associated with a previously unannotated Xist-enhancing regulatory transcript, we named Xert. Developmental cues and X-dosage are thus decoded by distinct regulatory regions, which cooperate to ensure female-specific Xist upregulation at the correct developmental time. Our study is the first step to disentangle how multiple, functionally distinct regulatory regions interact to generate complex expression patterns in mammals.

/pdf/distal-and-proximal-cis-regulatory-elements-sense-x-4s3undtq0b.pdf

Distal and proximal cis-regulatory elements sense X-chromosomal dosage and developmental state at the Xist locus

Regulatory principles and mechanisms governing the onset of random X-chromosome inactivation.

The onset of random X chromosome inactivation in mouse requires the switch from a symmetric to an asymmetric state, where the identities of the future inactive and active X chromosomes are assigned. This process is known as X chromosome choice. Here, we show that RIF1 and KAP1 are two fundamental factors for the definition of this transcriptional asymmetry. We found that at the onset of differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs), biallelic up-regulation of the long non-coding RNA Tsix weakens the symmetric association of RIF1 with the Xist promoter. The Xist allele maintaining the association with RIF1 goes on to up-regulate Xist RNA expression in a RIF1-dependent manner. Conversely, the promoter that loses RIF1 gains binding of KAP1, and KAP1 is required for the increase in Tsix levels preceding the choice. We propose that the mutual exclusion of Tsix and RIF1, and of RIF1 and KAP1, at the Xist promoters establish a self-sustaining loop that transforms an initially stochastic event into a stably inherited asymmetric X-chromosome state.

RIF1 and KAP1 differentially regulate the choice of inactive versus active X chromosomes.

The onset of random X inactivation in mouse requires the switch from a symmetric to an asymmetric state, where the identities of the future inactive and active X chromosomes are assigned. Here we show that RIF1 and KAP1 are two fundamental factors for the definition of the asymmetry. Our data show that at the onset of mESC differentiation, upregulation of the long non-coding RNA Tsix weakens the symmetric RIF1 association with the Xist promoter, and opens a window of opportunity for a more stable association of KAP1. KAP1 is required to sustain high levels of Tsix, thus reinforcing and propagating the asymmetry, and, as a result, marking the future active X chromosome. Furthermore, we show that RIF1 association with the future inactive X chromosome is essential for Xist upregulation. This double-bookmarking system, based on the mutually exclusive relationships of Tsix and RIF1, and RIF1 and KAP1, thus coordinates the identification of the inactive and active X chromosomes and initiates a self-sustaining loop that transforms an initially stochastic event into a stably inherited asymmetric X chromosome state.

/pdf/a-rif1-kap1-based-toggle-switch-stabilises-the-identities-of-4iwqwb7qq9.pdf

A RIF1/KAP1-based toggle switch stabilises the identities of the inactive and active X chromosomes during X inactivation

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

Fatima Cavaleri

Author Tools

Chat about Author

Papers

RIF1 and KAP1 differentially regulate the choice of inactive versus active X chromosomes.

A RIF1/KAP1-based toggle switch stabilises the identities of the inactive and active X chromosomes during X inactivation