TY - JOUR
T1 - Xist RNA and the mechanism of X chromosome inactivation
AU - Plath, Kathrin
AU - Mlynarczyk-Evans, Susanna
AU - Nusinow, Dmitri A.
AU - Panning, Barbara
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - Dosage compensation in mammals is achieved by the transcriptional inactivation of one X chromosome in female cells. From the time X chromosome inactivation was initially described, it was clear that several mechanisms must be precisely integrated to achieve correct regulation of this complex process. X-inactivation appears to be triggered upon differentiation, suggesting its regulation by developmental cues. Whereas any number of X chromosomes greater than one is silenced, only one X chromosome remains active. Silencing on the inactive X chromosome coincides with the acquisition of a multitude of chromatin modifications, resulting in the formation of extraordinarily stable facultative heterochromatin that is faithfully propagated through subsequent cell divisions. The integration of all these processes requires a region of the X chromosome known as the X-inactivation center, which contains the Xist gene and its cis-regulatory elements. Xist encodes an RNA molecule that plays critical roles in the choice of which X chromosome remains active, and in the initial spread and establishment of silencing on the inactive X chromosome. We are now on the threshold of discovering the factors that regulate and interact with Xist to control X-inactivation, and closer to an understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie this complex process.
AB - Dosage compensation in mammals is achieved by the transcriptional inactivation of one X chromosome in female cells. From the time X chromosome inactivation was initially described, it was clear that several mechanisms must be precisely integrated to achieve correct regulation of this complex process. X-inactivation appears to be triggered upon differentiation, suggesting its regulation by developmental cues. Whereas any number of X chromosomes greater than one is silenced, only one X chromosome remains active. Silencing on the inactive X chromosome coincides with the acquisition of a multitude of chromatin modifications, resulting in the formation of extraordinarily stable facultative heterochromatin that is faithfully propagated through subsequent cell divisions. The integration of all these processes requires a region of the X chromosome known as the X-inactivation center, which contains the Xist gene and its cis-regulatory elements. Xist encodes an RNA molecule that plays critical roles in the choice of which X chromosome remains active, and in the initial spread and establishment of silencing on the inactive X chromosome. We are now on the threshold of discovering the factors that regulate and interact with Xist to control X-inactivation, and closer to an understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie this complex process.
KW - Differentiation
KW - Dosage compensation
KW - Facultative heterochromatin
KW - Imprinting
KW - Tsix RNA
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036948659&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1146/annurev.genet.36.042902.092433
DO - 10.1146/annurev.genet.36.042902.092433
M3 - Review article
C2 - 12429693
AN - SCOPUS:0036948659
SN - 0066-4197
VL - 36
SP - 233
EP - 278
JO - Annual Review of Genetics
JF - Annual Review of Genetics
ER -