Volume 15, No 4, Apr 2005

ISSN: 1001-0602 
EISSN: 1748-7838 2018 
impact factor 17.848* 
(Clarivate Analytics, 2019)

Volume 15 Issue 4, April 2005: 292-300

REVIEWS

Chromatin domain boundaries: insulators and beyond

Gong Hong Wei, De Pei Liu*, Chih Chuan Liang

National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, 5 Dong Dan San Tiao, Beijing 100005, China Correspondence: De Pei Liu(liudp@pumc.edu.cn)

The eukaryotic genome is organized into functionally and structurally distinct domains, representing regulatory units for gene expression and chromosome behavior. DNA sequences that mark the border between adjacent domains are the insulators or boundary elements, which are required in maintenance of the function of different domains. Some insulators need others enable to play insulation activity. Chromatin domains are defined by distinct sets of post-translationally modified histones. Recent studies show that these histone modifications are also involved in establishment of sharp chromatin boundaries in order to prevent the spreading of distinct domains. Additionally, in some loci, the high-order chromatin structures for long-range looping interactions also have boundary activities, suggesting a correlation between insulators and chromatin loop domains. In this review, we will discuss recent progress in the field of chromatin domain boundaries.

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