Deciphering a Message from the Nucleus: How Transcription Factors and Spatial Chromatin Interactions Orchestrate Epidermal Differentiation
TLDR Key skin cell regulators and gene organization changes are crucial for skin cell development and could help treat skin disorders.
The study by Nayak et al., 2023, investigated the process of keratinocyte differentiation in the mouse epidermis, focusing on the role of transcription factors and chromatin organization. They found that during terminal differentiation, there is a significant downregulation of genes (82%) with an increase in transcriptional activity of genes related to epidermal barrier formation. Techniques such as ATAC-seq and Hi-C-seq revealed increased chromatin accessibility and looping at differentiation-associated genes, while ChIP-seq showed active enhancers related to epithelial differentiation. Transcription factors Dlx3, Klf4, and Grhl3 were identified as key regulators, with Dlx3 being essential for chromatin accessibility and gene transcription. This research enhances the understanding of keratinocyte differentiation and could inform treatments for related disorders.
