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Combined DNA-RNA Fluorescent In situ Hybridization FISH to Study X Chromosome Inactivation in Differentiated Female Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells
Published on: June 14, 2014
X-chromosome inactivation in development and cancer
1Mammalian Developmental Epigenetics Group, Genetics and Developmental Biology Unit, Institut Curie, CNRS UMR3215, INSERM U934, 75248 Paris, France.
Abstract:
X-chromosome inactivation represents an epigenetics paradigm and a powerful model system of facultative heterochromatin formation triggered by a non-coding RNA, Xist, during development. Once established, the inactive state of the Xi is highly stable in somatic cells, thanks to a combination of chromatin associated proteins, DNA methylation and nuclear organization. However, sporadic reactivation of X-linked genes has been reported during ageing and in transformed cells and disappearance of the Barr body is frequently observed in cancer cells. In this review we summarise current knowledge on the epigenetic changes that accompany X inactivation and discuss the extent to which the inactive X chromosome may be epigenetically or genetically perturbed in breast cancer.
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