scholarly journals Structural aspects of the inactive X chromosome

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1733) ◽  
pp. 20160357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giancarlo Bonora ◽  
Christine M. Disteche
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Nuclear Periphery ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Structural Difference ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Striking Difference ◽  
Inactive X Chromosome ◽  
Mary Lyon

A striking difference between male and female nuclei was recognized early on by the presence of a condensed chromatin body only in female cells. Mary Lyon proposed that X inactivation or silencing of one X chromosome at random in females caused this structural difference. Subsequent studies have shown that the inactive X chromosome (Xi) does indeed have a very distinctive structure compared to its active counterpart and all autosomes in female mammals. In this review, we will recap the discovery of this fascinating biological phenomenon and seminal studies in the field. We will summarize imaging studies using traditional microscopy and super-resolution technology, which revealed uneven compaction of the Xi. We will then discuss recent findings based on high-throughput sequencing techniques, which uncovered the distinct three-dimensional bipartite configuration of the Xi and the role of specific long non-coding RNAs in eliciting and maintaining this structure. The relative position of specific genomic elements, including genes that escape X inactivation, repeat elements and chromatin features, will be reviewed. Finally, we will discuss the position of the Xi, either near the nuclear periphery or the nucleolus, and the elements implicated in this positioning. This article is part of the themed issue ‘X-chromosome inactivation: a tribute to Mary Lyon’.

scholarly journals When the Lyon(ized chromosome) roars: ongoing expression from an inactive X chromosome

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1733) ◽  
pp. 20160355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Carrel ◽  
Carolyn J. Brown
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
X Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Sequencing Technologies ◽  
Inactive X Chromosome ◽  
Underlying Basis ◽  
Inactivation Process ◽  
Escape From X Inactivation ◽  
Mary Lyon

A tribute to Mary Lyon was held in October 2016. Many remarked about Lyon's foresight regarding many intricacies of the X-chromosome inactivation process. One such example is that a year after her original 1961 hypothesis she proposed that genes with Y homologues should escape from X inactivation to achieve dosage compensation between males and females. Fifty-five years later we have learned many details about these escapees that we attempt to summarize in this review, with a particular focus on recent findings. We now know that escapees are not rare, particularly on the human X, and that most lack functionally equivalent Y homologues, leading to their increasingly recognized role in sexually dimorphic traits. Newer sequencing technologies have expanded profiling of primary tissues that will better enable connections to sex-biased disorders as well as provide additional insights into the X-inactivation process. Chromosome organization, nuclear location and chromatin environments distinguish escapees from other X-inactivated genes. Nevertheless, several big questions remain, including what dictates their distinct epigenetic environment, the underlying basis of species differences in escapee regulation, how different classes of escapees are distinguished, and the roles that local sequences and chromosome ultrastructure play in escapee regulation. This article is part of the themed issue ‘X-chromosome inactivation: a tribute to Mary Lyon’.

scholarly journals Developmentally regulated alterations in Polycomb repressive complex 1 proteins on the inactive X chromosome

2004 ◽  
Vol 167 (6) ◽  
pp. 1025-1035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Plath ◽  
Dale Talbot ◽  
Karien M. Hamer ◽  
Arie P. Otte ◽  
Thomas P. Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Histone H3 ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Polycomb Group ◽  
Epigenetic Mark ◽  
Embryonic Cells ◽  
Developmentally Regulated ◽  
Inactive X Chromosome ◽  
Multistep Process

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins belonging to the polycomb (Pc) repressive complexes 1 and 2 (PRC1 and PRC2) maintain homeotic gene silencing. In Drosophila, PRC2 methylates histone H3 on lysine 27, and this epigenetic mark facilitates recruitment of PRC1. Mouse PRC2 (mPRC2) has been implicated in X inactivation, as mPRC2 proteins transiently accumulate on the inactive X chromosome (Xi) at the onset of X inactivation to methylate histone H3 lysine 27 (H3-K27). In this study, we demonstrate that mPRC1 proteins localize to the Xi, and that different mPRC1 proteins accumulate on the Xi during initiation and maintenance of X inactivation in embryonic cells. The Xi accumulation of mPRC1 proteins requires Xist RNA and is not solely regulated by the presence of H3-K27 methylation, as not all cells that exhibit this epigenetic mark on the Xi show Xi enrichment of mPRC1 proteins. Our results implicate mPRC1 in X inactivation and suggest that the regulated assembly of PcG protein complexes on the Xi contributes to this multistep process.

scholarly journals The search for the mouse X-chromosome inactivation centre

1990 ◽  
Vol 56 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Rastan ◽  
S. D. M. Brown
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
X Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Chromosome Identification ◽  
Female Embryo ◽  
Mary Lyon

SummaryThe phenomenon of X-chromosome inactivation in female mammals, whereby one of the two X chromosome present in each cell of the female embryo is inactivated early in development, was first described by Mary Lyon in 1961. Nearly 30 years later, the mechanism of X-chromosome inactivation remains unknown. Strong evidence has accumulated over the years, however, for the involvement of a major switch or inactivation centre on the mouse X chromosome. Identification of the inactivation centre at the molecular level would be an important step in understanding the mechanism of X-inactivation. In this paper we review the evidence for the existence and location of the X-inactivation centre on the mouse X-chromosome, present data on the molecular genetic mapping of this region, and describe ongoing strategies we are using to attempt to identify the inactivation centre at the molecular level.

scholarly journals What makes the maternal X chromosome resistant to undergoing imprinted X inactivation?

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1733) ◽  
pp. 20160365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Sado
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Chromatin Structure ◽  
Noncoding Rna ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Preimplantation Embryos ◽  
Parental Origin ◽  
Random Fashion ◽  
In Cis ◽  
Mary Lyon ◽  
Extraembryonic Tissues

In the mouse, while either X chromosome is chosen for inactivation in a random fashion in the embryonic tissue, the paternally derived X chromosome is preferentially inactivated in the extraembryonic tissues. It has been shown that the maternal X chromosome is imprinted so as not to undergo inactivation in the extraembryonic tissues. X-linked noncoding Xist RNA becomes upregulated on the X chromosome that is to be inactivated. An antisense noncoding RNA, Tsix , which occurs at the Xist locus and has been shown to negatively regulate Xist expression in cis, is imprinted to be expressed from the maternal X in the extraembryonic tissues. Although Tsix appears to be responsible for the imprint laid on the maternal X, those who disagree with this idea would point out the fact that Tsix has not yet been expressed from the maternal X when Xist becomes upregulated on the paternal but not the maternal X at the onset of imprinted X-inactivation in preimplantation embryos. Recent studies have demonstrated, however, that there is a prominent difference in the chromatin structure at the Xist locus depending on the parental origin, which I suggest might account for the repression of maternal Xist in the absence of maternal Tsix at the preimplantation stages. This article is part of the themed issue ‘X-chromosome inactivation: a tribute to Mary Lyon’.

scholarly journals Progress in understanding the molecular mechanism of Xist RNA function through genetics

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1733) ◽  
pp. 20160368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asun Monfort ◽  
Anton Wutz
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Noncoding Rna ◽  
Recent Progress ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Gene Repression ◽  
Inactive X Chromosome ◽  
Xist Rna ◽  
Biochemical Studies ◽  
Mary Lyon

The Xist gene produces a long noncoding RNA that initiates chromosome-wide gene repression on the inactive X chromosome in female mammals. Recent progress has advanced the understanding of Xist function at the molecular level. This review provides an overview of insights from genetic approaches and puts the new data in the context of an emerging mechanistic model as well as the existing literature. Some consideration is given on how independent biochemical studies on X inactivation help to advance on the wider question of chromatin regulation in the mammalian dosage compensation system. This article is part of the themed issue ‘X-chromosome inactivation: a tribute to Mary Lyon’.

A gene from the region of the human X inactivation centre is expressed exclusively from the inactive X chromosome

Nature ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 349 (6304) ◽  
pp. 38-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn J. Brown ◽  
Andrea Ballabio ◽  
James L. Rupert ◽  
Ronald G. Lafreniere ◽  
Markus Grompe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Inactive X Chromosome

scholarly journals The Trithorax group protein Ash2l and Saf-A are recruited to the inactive X chromosome at the onset of stable X inactivation

Development ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 137 (6) ◽  
pp. 935-943 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Pullirsch ◽  
R. Hartel ◽  
H. Kishimoto ◽  
M. Leeb ◽  
G. Steiner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Trithorax Group ◽  
Inactive X Chromosome ◽  
Group Protein

Genetic activity of sex chromosomes in somatic cells of mammals

1970 ◽  
Vol 259 (828) ◽  
pp. 41-52 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Chromosome Region ◽  
Somatic Cells ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Animal Group ◽  
Inactive X Chromosome ◽  
Genetic Activity ◽  
Partial Inactivation

Mammals are thought to have a type of dosage compensation not so far known in any other animal group: however many X chromosomes are present, only one remains genetically active in somatic cells. Considerable evidence for this idea exists, in spite of criticism; the greatest difficulty is presented by the abnormalities in human individuals with X chromosome aberrations. Possible explanations for these abnormalities include: wrong X chromosome dosage in early development before X inactivation, reversal of inactivation, partial inactivation of both X chromosomes, activity of the X while in the condensed inactive state, and the presence of a homologous non-inactivated region of the human X and Y. In female germ cells X inactivation apparently does not occur, but the situation in male germ cells is less clear. The Y chromosome is probably also inactive in somatic cells of adults, but again its function in germ cells is not yet clear. Some species have a presumed doubly inactive X chromosome region, as well as the singly active one. The origins and functions of this region are unknown; it may have a role in female germ cells.

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