Intermingling of chromosome territories

Abstract

The importance of higher order nuclear structure and compartmentalization for the control of the cell life is now indisputable. The genome of higher eukaryotes is organized into definite chromosome territories, and the three‐dimensional organization of these territories may be intently related to genomic function, global regulation of gene expression, and even formation of exchange aberrations. In this review, we discuss our current understanding of the chromosome territories phenomenon and briefly describe how genes relocation in three‐dimensional arrangement of the genome may influence their functioning. We explain how the intermingling of the edges of chromosome territories allows the formation of rare long‐range interchromosomal interactions. Moreover, we illustrate recent discoveries describing the mechanisms of physical proximity based chromosome translocations and its clinical consequence for fusion genes formation and tumor development. Finally, we characterize the inner structure of the intermingled chromosomes briefly, and explain how chromosome intermingling affects gene expression regulation.

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