RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Assessing eRNAs associated with a cytokine-sensing mammary super-enhancer
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 174953
DO 10.1101/174953
A1 Chaochen Wang
A1 Tyler Kuhns
A1 Christian Reinbold
A1 Michaela Willi
A1 Lothar Hennighausen
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/08/10/174953.abstract
AB Enhancers are transcription factor platforms that also bind RNA polymerase II and generate enhancer RNAs (eRNA). Although eRNAs have been suggested as predictors of enhancer activities and possibly key components facilitating transcription, there is little genetic evidence to support this. We address the biology of eRNAs in vivo and investigate eRNA patterns, expression levels and possible functions within a mammary-specific super-enhancer that is composed of three units with distinct transcriptional capacities. We show that eRNA levels do not correspond with the activities of their respective enhancer units. However, changes in eRNA expression upon deletion of individual enhancer units reflect the change in overall super-enhancer activity. These data provide genetic evidence that eRNA levels are not a reliable readout of individual enhancers, but they predict super-enhancer activity in the absence of constituent elements.