Is late replication of the inactive X chromosome irreversible in all cells of mammals?

1975 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.R.V. Rao ◽  
S.C. Jhanwar
Acta Naturae ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-61
Author(s):  
A. V. Panova ◽  
E. D. Nekrasov ◽  
M. A. Lagarkova ◽  
S. L. Kiselev ◽  
A. N. Bogomazova

Dosage compensation of the X chromosomes in mammals is performed via the formation of facultative heterochromatin on extra X chromosomes in female somatic cells. Facultative heterochromatin of the inactivated X (Xi), as well as constitutive heterochromatin, replicates late during the S-phase. It is generally accepted that Xi is always more compact in the interphase nucleus. The dense chromosomal folding has been proposed to define the late replication of Xi. In contrast to mouse pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), the status of X chromosome inactivation in human PSCs may vary significantly. Fluorescence in situ hybridization with a whole X-chromosome-specific DNA probe revealed that late-replicating Xi may occupy either compact or dispersed territory in human PSCs. Thus, the late replication of the Xi does not depend on the compactness of chromosome territory in human PSCs. However, the Xi reactivation and the synchronization in the replication timing of X chromosomes upon reprogramming are necessarily accompanied by the expansion of X chromosome territory.


1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1635-1641 ◽  
Author(s):  
S G Grant ◽  
R G Worton

We have investigated the genetic activation of the hprt (hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase) gene located on the inactive X chromosome in primary and transformed female diploid Chinese hamster cells after treatment with the DNA methylation inhibitor 5-azacytidine (5azaCR). Mutants deficient in HPRT were first selected by growth in 6-thioguanine from two primary fibroblast cell lines and from transformed lines derived from them. These HPRT- mutants were then treated with 5azaCR and plated in HAT (hypoxanthine-methotrexate-thymidine) medium to select for cells that had reexpressed the hprt gene on the inactive X chromosome. Contrary to previous results with primary human cells, 5azaCR was effective in activating the hprt gene in primary Chinese hamster fibroblasts at a low but reproducible frequency of 2 x 10(-6) to 7 x 10(-6). In comparison, the frequency in independently derived transformed lines varied from 1 x 10(-5) to 5 x 10(-3), consistently higher than in the nontransformed cells. This increase remained significant when the difference in growth rates between the primary and transformed lines was taken into account. Treatment with 5azaCR was also found to induce transformation in the primary cell lines but at a low frequency of 4 x 10(-7) to 8 x 10(-7), inconsistent with a two-step model of transformation followed by gene activation to explain the derepression of hprt in primary cells. Thus, these results indicate that upon transformation, the hprt gene on the inactive Chinese hamster X chromosome is rendered more susceptible to action by 5azaCR, consistent with a generalized DNA demethylation associated with the transformation event or with an increase in the instability of an underlying primary mechanism of X inactivation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1114
Author(s):  
Ali Youness ◽  
Charles-Henry Miquel ◽  
Jean-Charles Guéry

Women represent 80% of people affected by autoimmune diseases. Although, many studies have demonstrated a role for sex hormone receptor signaling, particularly estrogens, in the direct regulation of innate and adaptive components of the immune system, recent data suggest that female sex hormones are not the only cause of the female predisposition to autoimmunity. Besides sex steroid hormones, growing evidence points towards the role of X-linked genetic factors. In female mammals, one of the two X chromosomes is randomly inactivated during embryonic development, resulting in a cellular mosaicism, where about one-half of the cells in a given tissue express either the maternal X chromosome or the paternal one. X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is however not complete and 15 to 23% of genes from the inactive X chromosome (Xi) escape XCI, thereby contributing to the emergence of a female-specific heterogeneous population of cells with bi-allelic expression of some X-linked genes. Although the direct contribution of this genetic mechanism in the female susceptibility to autoimmunity still remains to be established, the cellular mosaicism resulting from XCI escape is likely to create a unique functional plasticity within female immune cells. Here, we review recent findings identifying key immune related genes that escape XCI and the relationship between gene dosage imbalance and functional responsiveness in female cells.


2002 ◽  
Vol 157 (7) ◽  
pp. 1113-1123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian P. Chadwick ◽  
Huntington F. Willard

One of several features acquired by chromatin of the inactive X chromosome (Xi) is enrichment for the core histone H2A variant macroH2A within a distinct nuclear structure referred to as a macrochromatin body (MCB). In addition to localizing to the MCB, macroH2A accumulates at a perinuclear structure centered at the centrosome. To better understand the association of macroH2A1 with the centrosome and the formation of an MCB, we investigated the distribution of macroH2A1 throughout the somatic cell cycle. Unlike Xi-specific RNA, which associates with the Xi throughout interphase, the appearance of an MCB is predominantly a feature of S phase. Although the MCB dissipates during late S phase and G2 before reforming in late G1, macroH2A1 remains associated during mitosis with specific regions of the Xi, including at the X inactivation center. This association yields a distinct macroH2A banding pattern that overlaps with the site of histone H3 lysine-4 methylation centered at the DXZ4 locus in Xq24. The centrosomal pool of macroH2A1 accumulates in the presence of an inhibitor of the 20S proteasome. Therefore, targeting of macroH2A1 to the centrosome is likely part of a degradation pathway, a mechanism common to a variety of other chromatin proteins.


1980 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Kahan ◽  
Robert DeMars

2012 ◽  
Vol 69 (23) ◽  
pp. 4067-4077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Woo Choi ◽  
Jong Soo Kim ◽  
Hyo Jin Jang ◽  
Sol Choi ◽  
Jae-Hwan Kim ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Alessandra Spaziano ◽  
Dr Irene Cantone

Mammalian females (XX) silence transcription on one of the two X chromosomes to compensate the expression dosage with males (XY). This process — named X-chromosome inactivation — entails a variety of epigenetic modifications that act synergistically to maintain silencing and make it heritable through cell divisions. Genes along the inactive X chromosome are, indeed, refractory to reactivation. Nonetheless, X-chromosome reactivation can occur alongside with epigenome reprogramming or by perturbing multiple silencing pathways. Here we review the events associated with X-chromosome reactivation during in vivo and in vitro reprogramming and highlight recent efforts in inducing Xi reactivation by molecular perturbations. This provides us with a first understanding of the mechanisms underlying X-chromosome reactivation, which could be tackled for therapeutic purposes.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document