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Updated: Nov 15, 2025
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Chromatin Immunoprecipitation ChIP in Mouse T-cell Lines
Published on: June 17, 2017
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Signaling-to-chromatin pathways in the immune system
Alexia Martínez de Paz1, Steven Zvi Josefowicz1
1Laboratory of Epigenetics and Immunity, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Immunological Reviews
|March 1, 2021
Summary
Cellular signaling pathways activate chromatin for rapid gene expression, essential for immune responses. These "signaling-to-chromatin" mechanisms help overcome the challenge of finding specific genes within the nucleus.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Cellular Biology
- Immunology
Background:
- Complex organisms require rapid transcriptional responses to environmental cues.
- Nuclear chromatin presents a challenge for targeted gene activation.
- Mechanisms linking cell surface signaling to chromatin changes are less understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore "signaling-to-chromatin" pathways.
- To understand how cells achieve robust, inducible transcription.
- To investigate chromatin-related mechanisms for gene activation in immune cells.
Main Methods:
- Review of signaling cascades involving protein kinases.
- Analysis of histone phosphorylation in response to signaling.
- Discussion of chromatin remodeling in inducible transcription.
Main Results:
- Signaling pathways activate chromatin via histone phosphorylation ("signaling-to-chromatin").
- These pathways are critical for inducible transcription in macrophages and other immune cells.
- Specific chromatin mechanisms facilitate rapid gene activation.
Conclusions:
- "Signaling-to-chromatin" pathways are key for inducible transcription.
- Understanding these pathways is crucial for immune cell function.
- Chromatin regulation is essential for overcoming gene accessibility challenges.
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