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Updated: Nov 9, 2025

Author Spotlight: An Integrated Workflow to Study the Promoter-Centric Spatio-Temporal Genome Architecture in Scarce Cell Populations
Published on: April 21, 2023
Mechanisms of enhancer action: the known and the unknown
Anil Panigrahi1, Bert W O'Malley2
1Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
Abstract:
Differential gene expression mechanisms ensure cellular differentiation and plasticity to shape ontogenetic and phylogenetic diversity of cell types. A key regulator of differential gene expression programs are the enhancers, the gene-distal cis-regulatory sequences that govern spatiotemporal and quantitative expression dynamics of target genes. Enhancers are widely believed to physically contact the target promoters to effect transcriptional activation. However, our understanding of the full complement of regulatory proteins and the definitive mechanics of enhancer action is incomplete. Here, we review recent findings to present some emerging concepts on enhancer action and also outline a set of outstanding questions.
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