scholarly journals Mechanisms of Choice in X-Chromosome Inactivation

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Furlan ◽  
Rafael Galupa
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
X Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
X Chromosomes

Early in development, placental and marsupial mammals harbouring at least two X chromosomes per nuclei are faced with a choice that affects the rest of their lives: which of those X chromosomes to transcriptionally inactivate. This choice underlies phenotypical diversity in the composition of tissues and organs and in their response to environment, and can determine whether an individual will be healthy or affected by an X-linked disease. Here, we review our current understanding of the process of choice during X-chromosome inactivation and its implications, focusing on the strategies evolved by different mammalian lineages and on the known and unknown molecular mechanisms and players involved. We also call for a revised manner in which to think about choice during random X-inactivation.

Regulation of imprinted X-chromosome inactivation in mice by Tsix

Development ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 128 (8) ◽  
pp. 1275-1286 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Sado ◽  
Z. Wang ◽  
H. Sasaki ◽  
E. Li
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
X Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Maternal Allele ◽  
Xist Expression ◽  
Developmental Defects ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Embryonic Tissues ◽  
Early Embryonic Lethality

In mammals, X-chromosome inactivation is imprinted in the extra-embryonic lineages with paternal X chromosome being preferentially inactivated. In this study, we investigate the role of Tsix, the antisense transcript from the Xist locus, in regulation of Xist expression and X-inactivation. We show that Tsix is transcribed from two putative promoters and its transcripts are processed. Expression of Tsix is first detected in blastocysts and is imprinted with only the maternal allele transcribed. The imprinted expression of Tsix persists in the extra-embryonic tissues after implantation, but is erased in embryonic tissues. To investigate the function of Tsix in X-inactivation, we disrupted Tsix by insertion of an IRES(β)geo cassette in the second exon, which blocked transcripts from both promoters. While disruption of the paternal Tsix allele has no adverse effects on embryonic development, inheritance of a disrupted maternal allele results in ectopic Xist expression and early embryonic lethality, owing to inactivation of both X chromosomes in females and single X chromosome in males. Further, early developmental defects of female embryos with maternal transmission of Tsix mutation can be rescued by paternal inheritance of the Xist deletion. These results provide genetic evidence that Tsix plays a crucial role in maintaining Xist silencing in cis and in regulation of imprinted X-inactivation in the extra-embryonic tissues.

STATISTICAL MECHANICS MODELS FOR X-CHROMOSOME INACTIVATION

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (03) ◽  
pp. 367-376
Author(s):  
ANTONIO SCIALDONE ◽  
MARIO NICODEMI
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Mechanics ◽  
X Chromosome ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
X Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Regulatory Mechanisms ◽  
Random Choice ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Regulatory Processes

We present statistical mechanics models to understand the physical and molecular mechanisms of X-Chromosome Inactivation (XCI), the process whereby a female mammal cell inactivates one of its two X-chromosomes. During XCI, X-chromosomes undergo a series of complex regulatory processes. At the beginning of XCI, the X's recognize and pair, then only one X which is randomly chosen is inactivated. Afterwards, the two X's move to different positions in the cell nucleus according to their different status (active/silenced). Our models illustrate about the still mysterious physical bases underlying all these regulatory steps, i.e., X-chromosome pairing, random choice of inactive X, and "shuttling" of the X's to their post-XCI locations. Our models are based on general and robust thermodynamic roots, and their validity can go beyond XCI, to explain analogous regulatory mechanisms in a variety of cellular processes.

scholarly journals Species-specific differences in X chromosome inactivation in mammals

Reproduction ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 146 (4) ◽  
pp. R131-R139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Sado ◽  
Takehisa Sakaguchi
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Molecular Basis ◽  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
X Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Inactive X Chromosome ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Genetically Manipulated

In female mammals, the dosage difference in X-linked genes between XX females and XY males is compensated for by inactivating one of the two X chromosomes during early development. Since the discovery of the X inactive-specific transcript (XIST) gene in humans and its subsequent isolation of the mouse homolog, Xist, in the early 1990s, the molecular basis of X chromosome inactivation (X-inactivation) has been more fully elucidated using genetically manipulated mouse embryos and embryonic stem cells. Studies on X-inactivation in other mammals, although limited when compared with those in the mice, have revealed that, while their inactive X chromosome shares many features with those in the mice, there are marked differences in not only some epigenetic modifications of the inactive X chromosome but also when and how X-inactivation is initiated during early embryonic development. Such differences raise the issue about what extent of the molecular basis of X-inactivation in the mice is commonly shared among others. Recognizing similarities and differences in X-inactivation among mammals may provide further insight into our understanding of not only the evolutionary but also the molecular aspects for the mechanism of X-inactivation. Here, we reviewed species-specific differences in X-inactivation and discussed what these differences may reveal.

X-Chromosome Inactivation in Marsupials

1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 411 ◽  
Author(s):  
DW Cooper ◽  
PG Johnston ◽  
JL Vandeberg ◽  
ES Robinson
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Phosphoglycerate Kinase ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
X Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyl Transferase ◽  
Late Replication ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Y Chromosomes

Marsupial (metatherian) mammals resemble their eutherian ('placental') counterparts in having inacti- vation of one of the two X chromosomes in the soma and premeiotic germ cells of their females. The marsupial X-inactivation system differs from the eutherian system in two respects: firstly, inactivation occurs for the paternally derived allele, i.e. it is not random, and secondly it is often incomplete. Data are available for four X-linked loci, all controlling enzyme structure: glucose-6- phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGKl), alpha-galactosidase (GLA) and hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT). Both the G6PD and PGKl loci exhibit incomplete X-chromosome inactivation. The pattern of partial expression differs from tissue to tissue and from species to species. One of the two X chromosomes exhibits late replication, even in cells where a paternally derived gene is partly active, showing that late replication and absence of transcription are not completely correlated. Sex chromatin bodies are not as easily found as in some eutherians. In marsupials they are most clearly demonstrable in species with small Y chromosomes. Investigations into X-inactivation in early development have just begun. Absence of inactivation at the G6PD locus in yolk sac of a kangaroo has been observed. All other tissues exhibited complete paternal X-inacti- vation for G6PD. In a dasyurid, GLA showed complete paternal X-inactivation in all embryonic and extra-embryonic tissues. The role, if any, of methylation of cytosine residues in CpG pairs in the maintenance of X-inactivation in marsupials is unclear. Preliminary evidence indicates that sex-specific differences in methylation of sex linked genes do exist in marsupials.

Marsupials and Mechanisms of X-Chromosome Inactivation

1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 419 ◽  
Author(s):  
AD Riggs
Keyword(s):  
Dna Replication ◽  
X Chromosome ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Chromosome Structure ◽  
X Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Type I

X chromosome inactivation is reviewed with molecular mechanisms in mind. Models for the various steps leading to the establishment and maintenance of X inactivation are discussed, with comparisons between eutherians and marsupials included. Late DNA replication is proposed to be an epigenetic, self-propagating mechanism aiding the somatic inheritance of determined states, and thus could be the ancestral mechanism for X inactivation. Also, a novel mechanism, Type I DNA-reeling, is proposed to maintain higher order chromosome structure and to help explain the cis-spreading of X inactivation.

scholarly journals Escape from X Chromosome Inactivation and the Female Predominance in Autoimmune Diseases

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1114
Author(s):  
Ali Youness ◽  
Charles-Henry Miquel ◽  
Jean-Charles Guéry
Keyword(s):  
Autoimmune Diseases ◽  
X Chromosome ◽  
Gene Dosage ◽  
X Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Female Sex Hormones ◽  
Inactive X Chromosome ◽  
Immune Related Genes ◽  
Female Specific

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.

Random X-chromosome inactivation in female primordial germ cells in the mouse

Development ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 251-258
Author(s):  
Andy McMahon ◽  
Mandy Fosten ◽  
Marilyn Monk
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Primordial Germ Cells ◽  
Phosphoglycerate Kinase ◽  
X Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Yolk Sac ◽  
Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
X Chromosomes

The pattern of expression of the two X chromosomes was investigated in pre-meiotic germ cells from 12½-day-old female embryos heterozygous for the variant electrophoretic forms of the X-linked enzyme phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK-1). If such germ cells carry the preferentially active Searle's translocated X chromosome (Lyon, Searle, Ford & Ohno, 1964), then only the Pgk-1 allele on this chromosome is expressed. This confirms Johnston's evidence (1979,1981) that Pgk-1 expression reflects a single active X chromosome at this time. Extracts of 12½-day germ cells from heterozygous females carrying two normal X chromosomes show both the A and the B forms of PGK; since only one X chromosome in each cell is active, different alleles must be expressed in different cells, suggesting that X-chromosome inactivation is normally random in the germ line. This result makes it unlikely that germ cells are derived from the yolk-sac endoderm where the paternally derived X chromosome is preferentially inactivated. In their pattern of X-chromosome inactivation, germ cells evidently resemble other tissues derived from the epiblast.

X-chromosome inactivation in XX androgenetic mouse embryos surviving implantation

Development ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 127 (19) ◽  
pp. 4137-4145 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Okamoto ◽  
S. Tan ◽  
N. Takagi
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Ectopic Expression ◽  
Blastocyst Stage ◽  
X Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Current View ◽  
Replication Banding ◽  
Xist Rna ◽  
Morula Stage

Using genetic and cytogenetic markers, we assessed early development and X-chromosome inactivation (X-inactivation) in XX mouse androgenones produced by pronuclear transfer. Contrary to the current view, XX androgenones are capable of surviving to embryonic day 7.5, achieving basically random X-inactivation in all tissues including those derived from the trophectoderm and primitive endoderm that are characterized by paternal X-activation in fertilized embryos. This finding supports the hypothesis that in fertilized female embryos, the maternal X chromosome remains active until the blastocyst stage because of a rigid imprint that prevents inactivation, whereas the paternal X chromosome is preferentially inactivated in extra-embryonic tissues owing to lack of such imprint. In spite of random X-inactivation in XX androgenones, FISH analyses revealed expression of stable Xist RNA from every X chromosome in XX and XY androgenonetic embryos from the four-cell to morula stage. Although the occurrence of inappropriate X-inactivation was further suggested by the finding that Xist continues ectopic expression in a proportion of cells from XX and XY androgenones at the blastocyst and the early egg cylinder stage, a replication banding study failed to provide positive evidence for inappropriate X-inactivation at E6. 5.

Investigation of variability among mouse aggregation chimaeras and X-chromosome inactivation mosaics

Development ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 309-329
Author(s):  
John D. West ◽  
Theodor Bücher ◽  
Ingrid M. Linke ◽  
Manfred Dünnwald
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
Phosphoglycerate Kinase ◽  
X Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Yolk Sac ◽  
X Inactivation ◽  
Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Cell Populations ◽  
Primitive Endoderm ◽  
Female Progeny ◽  
Positive Correlations

Mouse aggregation chimaeras were produced by aggregating C3H/HeH and C3H/HeHa—Pgk-1a/Ws embryos. At mid-term the proportions of the two cell populations in these conceptuses and the X-inactivation mosaic female progeny of C3H/HeH ♀ × C3H/HeHa—Pgk-1a/Ws ♂ matings were estimated using quantitative electrophoresis of phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK-1) allozymes. The percentage of PGK-1B was more variable in the foetus, amnion and yolk sac mesoderm of the chimaeras than in the corresponding tissues of the mosaic conceptuses. Positive correlations were found for the percentage of PGK-1B between these three primitive ectoderm tissues in both chimaeras and mosaics and between the two primitive endoderm tissues (yolk sac endoderm and parietal endoderm) of the chimaeras. There was no significant correlation between the primitive ectoderm and primitive endoderm tissues of the chimaeras. The results suggest that unequal allocation of cell populations to the primitive ectoderm and primitive endoderm considerably increases the variability among chimaeras but variation probably exists before this segregation occurs. The variation that arises before and at this allocation event is present before X-chromosome inactivation occurs in the primitive ectoderm lineage and explains why the proportions of the two cell populations are more variable among chimaeras than mosaics. Additional variation arises within the primitive ectoderm lineage, after X-inactivation. This variation may be greater in chimaeras than mosaics but the evidence is inconclusive. The results also have some bearing on the nature of the allocation of cells to the primitive ectoderm and primitive endoderm lineages and the timing of X-chromosome inactivation in the primitive ectoderm lineage.

scholarly journals Localized accumulation of Xist RNA in X chromosome inactivation

Open Biology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 190213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Brockdorff
Keyword(s):  
X Chromosome ◽  
X Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
Chromosome Inactivation ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Non Coding Rna ◽  
Xist Rna ◽  
Analogous Manner ◽  
Mammalian Embryos ◽  
Non Coding Rnas ◽  
In Cis

The non-coding RNA Xist regulates the process of X chromosome inactivation, in which one of the two X chromosomes present in cells of early female mammalian embryos is selectively and coordinately shut down. Remarkably Xist RNA functions in cis , affecting only the chromosome from which it is transcribed. This feature is attributable to the unique propensity of Xist RNA to accumulate over the territory of the chromosome on which it is synthesized, contrasting with the majority of RNAs that are rapidly exported out of the cell nucleus. In this review I provide an overview of the progress that has been made towards understanding localized accumulation of Xist RNA, drawing attention to evidence that some other non-coding RNAs probably function in a highly analogous manner. I describe a simple model for localized accumulation of Xist RNA and discuss key unresolved questions that need to be addressed in future studies.

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