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Chromatin dynamics and locus accessibility in the immune system

Nature Immunology volume 4, pages 603–606 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Development in vertebrates follows distinctive pathways of cellular differentiation. Starting from the zygote, newly formed cells continually differentiate until they reach a final mature fate. Whether differentiating into a neuron, a hepatocyte or a myofibril, every normal cell, with the exception of developing lymphocytes, carries the same genetic information enclosed within its nucleus. To acquire distinct cellular identities, cells need to control gene expression in a very regulated way. Genes encoding factors required for identity at a particular developmental stage need to be appropriately activated, whereas genes required for identity during the previous developmental stage are often silenced. Moreover, once a cell becomes terminally differentiated, 'heritable' gene expression must be maintained in all daughter cells and, thus, faithfully recapitulated after each cellular division.

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Acknowledgements

We thank David Jung and Katrin Chua for manuscript discussions. F.W.A is an Investigator and C.H.B. an Associate of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. R.M. is supported by a Human Frontier Science Program fellowship. Work in the lab is also supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Children's Hospital, Center for Blood Research, and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, 02115, Massachusetts, USA

    Raul Mostoslavsky, Frederick W Alt & Craig H Bassing

Authors
  1. Raul Mostoslavsky
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  2. Frederick W Alt
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  3. Craig H Bassing
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Correspondence to Frederick W Alt.

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Mostoslavsky, R., Alt, F. & Bassing, C. Chromatin dynamics and locus accessibility in the immune system. Nat Immunol 4, 603–606 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni0703-603

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