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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Repressing Gene Transcription by Redirecting Cellular Machinery with Chemical Epigenetic Modifiers
Published on: September 20, 2018
Polycomb silencing mechanisms and genomic programming
1Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. pirrotta@biology.rutgers.edu
Abstract:
Polycomb complexes, best known for their role in the epigenetic silencing of homeotic genes, are now known to regulate a large number of functions in organisms from flies to man. They control transcription activators, pattern-forming genes, maintenance of stem cells and are implicated in cell proliferation and oncogenesis. Our understanding of Polycomb mechanisms derives principally from the study of homeotic genes in Drosophila, where they act in an all-or-none fashion to silence expression in inappropriate parts of the organism. This review summarizes what has been learned from homeotic genes and examines the possible extensions of Polycomb mechanisms to allow for dynamic regulatory behavior and the reprogramming of silenced chromatin states.
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