The inactivation of the π gene in chicken erythroblasts of adult lineage is not mediated by packaging of the embryonic part of the α-globin gene domain into a repressive heterochromatin-like structure.

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Item Type:	Article
Title:	The inactivation of the π gene in chicken erythroblasts of adult lineage is not mediated by packaging of the embryonic part of the α-globin gene domain into a repressive heterochromatin-like structure.
Creators Name:	Ioudinkova, E.S., Ulianov, S.V., Bunina, D., Iarovaia, O.V., Gavrilov, A.A. and Razin, S.V.
Abstract:	The developmental switch of globin gene expression is a characteristic feature of vertebrate organisms. The switch of β-globin expression is believed to depend on reconfiguration of the active chromatin hub, which contains transcribed genes and regulatory elements. Mechanisms controlling the switch of α-globin gene expression are less clear. Here, we studied the mode of chromatin packaging of the chicken α-globin gene domain in red blood cells (RBCs) of primitive and definite lineages and the spatial configuration of this domain in RBCs of primitive lineage. It has been demonstrated that RBCs of primitive lineage already contain the adult-type active chromatin hub but the embryonal α-type globin π gene is not recruited to this hub. Distribution of active and repressive histone modifications over the α-globin gene domain in RBCs of definite and primitive lineages does not corroborate the hypothesis that inactivation of the π gene in RBCs of adult lineage is mediated via formation of a local repressed chromatin domain. This conclusion is supported by the demonstration that in chicken erythroblasts of adult lineage, the embryonal and adult segments of the α-globin gene domain show similar elevated sensitivities to DNase I.
Keywords:	α-Globin Genes, Developmental Switch, Histone Acetylation, Histone Modification, Chromosome Conformation Capture, Enhancer, Repressed Chromatin Domain, Animals, Chickens
Source:	Epigenetics
ISSN:	1559-2294
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Volume:	6
Number:	12
Page Range:	1481-1488
Date:	December 2011
Official Publication:	https://doi.org/10.4161/epi.6.12.18215
PubMed:	View item in PubMed

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