Telomere-surrounding regions are transcription-permissive 3D nuclear compartments in human cells
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa, Av. Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisbon (Portugal)
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa, Av. Professor Egas Moniz, 1649-028 Lisbon (Portugal) and Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia, 2781-901 Oeiras (Portugal)
Positioning of genes relative to nuclear heterochromatic compartments is thought to help regulate their transcriptional activity. Given that human subtelomeric regions are rich in highly expressed genes, we asked whether human telomeres are related to transcription-permissive nuclear compartments. To address this question, we investigated in the nuclei of normal human lymphocytes the spatial relations of two constitutively expressed genes (ACTB and RARA) and three nuclear transcripts (ACTB, IL2RA and TCRB) to telomeres and centromeres, as a function of gene activity and transcription levels. We observed that genes and gene transcripts locate close to telomere clusters and away from chromocenters upon activation of transcription. These findings, together with the observation that SC35 domains, which are enriched in pre-mRNA processing factors, are in close proximity to telomeres, indicate that telomere-neighboring regions are permissive to gene expression in human cells. Therefore, the associations of telomeres observed in the interphase nucleus might contribute, as opposed to chromocenters, for the establishment of transcription-permissive 3D nuclear compartments.
- OSTI ID:
- 20717616
- Journal Information:
- Experimental Cell Research, Vol. 307, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2005.02.025; PII: S0014-4827(05)00086-8; Copyright (c) 2005 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0014-4827
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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