Endocrine Abstracts

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) display a high degree of conservation in the DNA- and ligand-binding domains. Despite these sequence similarities, the PPARs show distinct functions, even when co-expressed. Many experimental approaches have been employed to determine the molecular mechanisms that underlie their subtype-specific characteristics. However, these approaches have largely relied on cell population based studies, such as ChIP-seq. Here we have ...

Transcription factors (TFs) regulate gene expression by interacting with chromatinized DNA response elements (REs). Access to these elements is dramatically restricted by chromatin organization, and modification of the nucleoprotein structure to allow factor binding is a key feature of cell selective gene regulation (Molecular Cell 29:611, 2008; Molecular Cell 43:145, 2011). Local transitions in chromatin access (often characterized as DNaseI hypersensitive sites (DHSs)) are o...