Isogenic comparison of Airn and Xist reveals core principles of Polycomb recruitment by lncRNAs
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ABSTRACT: The mechanisms and biological roles of Polycomb repressive complex (PRC) recruitment by lncRNAs remain unclear. To gain insight, we expressed two lncRNAs that recruit PRCs to multi-megabase domains, Airn and Xist, from an ectopic locus and compared effects. Unexpectedly, ectopic Airn recruited PRC1 and PRC2 to chromatin with a potency resembling Xist yet did not repress genes. Compared to PRC2, PRC1 was more proximal to Airn and Xist, where its enrichment over C-rich elements required the RNA-binding protein HNRNPK. Fusing Airn to Repeat A, the domain required for gene silencing by Xist, enabled gene silencing and altered local patterns but not relative levels of PRC-directed modifications. Our data suggest that endogenously, Airn recruits PRCs to maintain rather than initiate gene silencing; that PRC recruitment occurs independently of Xist Repeat A; and that protein-bridged interactions, not direct RNA contacts, underlie PRC recruitment by Airn, Xist, and other lncRNAs.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE230442 | GEO | 2025/02/21
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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