Enhancers

This lecture examines the sequence features through which enhancers bind transcription factors and control gene expression. It introduces computational approaches, including neural networks, for recognising regulatory DNA and potentially designing synthetic elements. It also compares recurring arrangements of enhancers around genes important in mammalian development.

Charting the regulatory interactions between transcription factors (TFs), enhancers, and genes during the formation of neuronal lineages in human can help decipher the complex genetic etiologies of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To achieve this, we conducted an integrative analysis of epigenomic and transcriptomic profiles of human forebrain organoids derived from individuals with idiopathic ASD and their neurotypical fathers. This multi-omics profiling allowed us to build an enhancer-driven gene regulatory network of early neural development and relate it

…The interplay of gene promoters and enhancers has been identified as a major mechanism to control specific expression patterns. Furthermore, combinations of enhancer elements with a preferable activity profile together with a small core promoter are starting to be used to drive transcription in gene delivery vectors.However, the identification of enhancers often relies on indirect measures, such as DNA conservation or epigenetic signatures. In addition, functional screens for enhancer a

…enhancers) plays a key role in developmental transitions from progenitors into cell lineages. These enhancers, properly topologically positioned in 3D space, ultimately guide the transcriptional programs. It is becoming clear that several pathologies converge in differential enhancer usage with respect to physiological situations. However, why some regulatory regions are physiologically preferred, while