Role of eukaryotic transcription regulators in the regulation of stochastic gene expression

生物体的基因如何、何时以及在何种水平上受到调节，这一难题的答案构成了所有生物物种繁殖和进化的关键决定因素。 因此，任何导致这种调节功能障碍的事件都不可避免地会促进癌症等疾病。 在过去十年左右的时间里，我们对控制基因表达的分子机制的理解取得了巨大的进步。 基因特异性转录因子需要接近它们的调节靶点以调节基因的表达。 为了实现这种调节，染色质必须首先适当地重塑以预设给定基因的激活或抑制状态。 我实验室的长期目标是了解转录因子如何在染色质环境中发挥作用，以在适当的生理线索下引发转录反应。

The answer to the conundrum of how, when, and to what level genes of living organisms are regulated constitutes the key determinant of all biological species' propagation and evolution. Hence any event that leads to the dysfunction of this regulation can inevitably promote diseases such as cancer. In the last decade or so, colossal advances have been made in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that control gene expression. Gene-specific transcription factors need to access their regulatory targets in order to modulate the expression of genes. To achieve this regulation, chromatin must first be appropriately remodeled to preset activation or repression states at a given gene. The long-term goal of my laboratory is to understand how transcription factors function in a chromatin environment to elicit a transcription response under an appropriate physiological cue.