Upstream Anti-sense Promoters Act as Local Enhancers of Mammalian Protein-coding Genes
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ABSTRACT: Anti-sense transcription originating upstream of mammalian protein-coding genes is a well-documented phenomenon, but remarkably little is known about the function or regulation of these anti-sense promoters or the non-coding RNAs they generate. Here we define at nucleotide resolution the divergent transcription start sites (TSSs) near mouse mRNAs. We find that coupled sense and anti-sense TSSs form the boundaries of an evolutionarily conserved and nucleosome-depleted regulatory region with dramatically enriched transcription factor (TF) occupancy. Notably, as the distance between sense and anti-sense TSSs increases, so does the level of TF binding and signal-dependent gene activation. We further discover a cluster of anti-sense TSSs in macrophages with an enhancer-like chromatin signature. Remarkably, this signature identifies promoters that are selectively and rapidly activated during immune challenge. We conclude that anti-sense TSSs can serve as potent, local enhancers of sense-strand gene expression by facilitating TF binding and deposition of activating histone modifications.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE62151 | GEO | 2015/06/23
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA263290
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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