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. 2017 Jan 31;112(3):434–445. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2017.01.003

Figure 3.

Figure 3

Hierarchical looping at the gene level. Structural model of the GATA-4 gene locus in an open, active state (left) versus an epigenetically silent state (right) as suggested by a combination of 3C contact data and mesoscale modeling (76). The GATA-4 gene has been shown to exhibit five distinct chromatin loops of ∼43, 61, 57, 157, and 109 nucleosomes each (colored in tan, blue, green, white, and purple, respectively); each loop is associated with enriched trimethylation of Lys27 of histone tail H3 (H3K27Me3) and PcG protein binding. The TSS, which resides between loop 3 and 4 (from 5′ to 3′), is enveloped by the chromatin loops when these contacts are enforced in our mesoscale model, suggesting a structural mechanism for epigenetic silencing of the GATA-4 gene. To see this figure in color, go online.