Gene Transcription Fine Tuned by New Checkpoint Mechanism
Alessandro Gardini, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Gene Expression & Regulation Program at The Wistar Institute, in his lab. [Wistar Institute]
May 18, 2021
Alessandro Gardini, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Gene Expression & Regulation Program at The Wistar Institute, in his lab. [Wistar Institute]
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Researchers from the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center in Melbourne, Australia, say they have discovered a new checkpoint mechanism that fine-tunes gene transcription.
Cell, a component of the Integrator protein complex tethers the protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) to the site of transcription allowing it to stop the activity of the RNA polymerase II enzyme (RNAPII).
Credit: The Wistar Institute
PHILADELPHIA and MELBOURNE, Australia (May. 17, 2021) A team of scientists from The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Center in Melbourne, Australia, discovered a new checkpoint mechanism that fine-tunes gene transcription. As reported in a study published in
Cell, a component of the Integrator protein complex tethers the protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) to the site of transcription allowing it to stop the activity of the RNA polymerase II enzyme (RNAPII). Disruption of this mechanism leads to unrestricted gene transcription and is implicated in cancer.
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