Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Desthiobiotin-Streptavidin-Affinity Mediated Purification of RNA-Interacting Proteins in Mesothelioma Cells
Published on: April 25, 2018
Lsh mediated RNA polymerase II stalling at HoxC6 and HoxC8 involves DNA methylation
Yongguang Tao1, Sichuan Xi, Victorino Briones
1Laboratory of Cancer Prevention, SAIC-Frederick, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland, United States of America.
None:
DNA cytosine methylation is an important epigenetic mechanism that is involved in transcriptional silencing of developmental genes. Several molecular pathways have been described that interfere with Pol II initiation, but at individual genes the molecular mechanism of repression remains uncertain. Here, we study the molecular mechanism of transcriptional regulation at Hox genes in dependence of the epigenetic regulator Lsh that controls CpG methylation at selected Hox genes. Wild type cells show a nucleosomal deprived region around the transcriptional start site at methylated Hox genes and mediate gene silencing via Pol II stalling. Hypomethylation in Lsh-/- cells is associated with efficient transcriptional elongation and splicing, in part mediated by the chromodomain protein Chd1. Dynamic modulation of DNA methylation in Lsh-/- and wild type cells demonstrates that catalytically active DNA methyltransferase activity is required for Pol II stalling. Taken together, the data suggests that DNA methylation can be compatible with Pol II binding at selected genes and Pol II stalling can act as alternate mechanism to explain transcriptional silencing associated with DNA methylation.
Related Concept Videos
Transcription Initiation
The promoters and enhancers and their accessory proteins allow tight regulation of...
Chromatin Structure Regulates pre-mRNA Processing
The chromatin structure, especially...
Bacterial Transcription
Transcription can be divided into three main stages, each involving distinct DNA sequences to guide the polymerase. These are:
Eukaryotic RNA Polymerases
All three eukaryotic RNAPs require specific transcription factors, of which the...
Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
Transcription Elongation Factors
The transcription elongation is regulated via pausing of RNA polymerase on several occasions during transcription. In bacteria, these halts are necessary because the transcription of DNA into mRNA is coupled to the translation of that mRNA into a...

