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RACK7 senses and fine-tunes enhancer activity
Li Dong1, Daixuan Zhang1, Ying Cai1
1Longevity and Aging Institute, the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Pancreatic Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Iscience
|July 30, 2025
Summary
Regulator RACK7 senses enhancer activity changes and moves to activated enhancers during acute stimulations. This protein promotes enhancer activation by aiding RNA polymerase II recruitment, facilitating dynamic gene expression.
Area of Science:
- Molecular biology
- Gene regulation
- Cellular signaling
Background:
- Enhancers control gene expression dynamically across space and time.
- While regulators of enhancers are known, their ability to sense enhancer activity is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if and how enhancer regulators sense enhancer activity dynamics.
- To elucidate the role of RACK7 in response to acute stimulations.
Main Methods:
- Studied the dynamic redistribution of RACK7 in response to various acute stimuli.
- Investigated the dependence of RACK7 redistribution on transcription.
- Assessed the effect of RACK7 on RNA polymerase II recruitment.
Main Results:
- RACK7 rapidly shifts from repressed to activated enhancers upon acute stimulation.
- RACK7 redistribution is dependent on active gene transcription.
- RACK7 enhances enhancer activation by promoting RNA polymerase II recruitment.
Conclusions:
- RACK7 acts as a sensor of enhancer activity changes.
- RACK7 facilitates enhancer activation during acute stimulations.
- RACK7 plays a crucial role in dynamic gene regulation.
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