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Association by guilt: identification of DLX5 as a target for MeCP2 provides a molecular link between genomic imprinting and Rett syndrome
Author(s) -
Bapat Sharmila,
Galande Sanjeev
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.20266
Subject(s) - rett syndrome , mecp2 , chromatin , genomic imprinting , biology , histone , chromatin remodeling , cpg site , dna methylation , genetics , epigenetics , angelman syndrome , imprinting (psychology) , neuroscience , gene , gene expression , phenotype
Rett syndrome (RTT) is an X‐linked dominant neurodevelopmental disorder affecting almost exclusively girls. Although mutations in methyl‐CpG‐binding protein (MeCP2) are known to be associated with RTT, gene expression patterns are not significantly altered in MeCP2‐deficient cells. A recent study1 identified MeCP2‐mediated histone modification and formation of a higher‐order chromatin loop structure specifically associated with silent chromatin at the Dlx5–Dlx6 locus in normal cells, and its absence thereof in RTT patients. This altered expression of Dlx5 through loss of silent chromatin loop formation provides a molecular mechanism underlying RTT and proposes a novel role for MeCP2 in chromatin organization and imprinting. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. BioEssays 27:676–680, 2005. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.