Regulatory feedback from nascent RNA to chromatin

Transcription and chromatin function are regulated by proteins that bind DNA, nucleosomes or RNA polymerase II, with specific non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) functioning to modulate their recruitment or activity. By contrast, nascent pre-mRNA has primarily been considered a passive player in these processes. Focusing on polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), I will present data from our lab that suggest that nascent pre-mRNA in fact plays an active role in regulating chromatin state. I will also discuss recent work revealing the transcriptional mechanisms underlying lineage specification of CD4+ T cells and how disregulation of these mechanisms is associated with increased risk of auto-inflammatory disease.
