Rev-erbα dynamically modulates chromatin looping to control circadian gene transcription

In mice, circadian gene expression in the liver is controlled by rhythmic chromatin interactions between enhancers and promoters.

• Core clock transcription factors bind to specific regions of the genome to regulate circadian gene expression.
• Not all enhancer-binding sites are equally effective in influencing gene activity.
• Rev-erbα, a key repressive transcription factor, inhibits the formation of functional loops between enhancers and gene promoters.
• This inhibition involves the recruitment of a co-repressor complex that modifies histones and disrupts the assembly of transcriptional machinery.
• A repressive mechanism of the molecular clock may rhythmically modulate chromatin structures to control gene transcription.

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