Dynamic genome architecture in the nuclear space: regulation of gene expression in three dimensions

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Abstract
Chromatin is mobile in the cell nucleus and undergoes movements that are best described as constrained diffusion. The extent of chromatin mobility is maximal in the early G1 phase of the cell cycle and can change depending on the differentiation status of the cell. Chromatin mobility is limited by structural constraints, as reflected in the territorial organization of chromosomes, the gene-density-related polarity of chromosome territories and the clustering of active and inactive chromatin in the nucleus. Chromatin movements away from the nuclear periphery or constitutive heterochromatin have been associated with gene activity in certain mammalian cell types. As a result of chromatin mobility, genomic regions interact with each other in the nucleus, a phenomenon that is referred to as 'gene kissing'. Recently, cases in which gene kissing has an important role in transcriptional regulation have been reported. Recent technological advances have allowed the large-scale identification of interacting loci. Initial results indicate that gene–gene interactions are driven in large part by the surrounding chromatin features (for example, transcriptional activity, histone code and gene content), rather than by a specific gene function being shared by the interacting partners.