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Science 3 August 2007:
Vol. 317. no. 5838, pp. 620 - 622
DOI: 10.1126/science.1143777
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Perspective

Epigenetic Flexibility Underlying Lineage Choices in the Adaptive Immune System

Dimitris Kioussis1* and Katia Georgopoulos2

Although fundamental models have emerged in recent years describing how chromatin and transcription regulation interface with one another in the developing immune system, the order of events and their biological impact are still being resolved. Recent advances have provided a flexible, rather than static, view of chromatin regulation to reveal how both positive and negative forces work concomitantly to establish specific chromatin structures and regulate gene expression. The challenge will now be to explore new epigenetic models and validate them during lymphocyte development, with the ultimate goal of unraveling the long-sought mechanisms that support the emerging complexity of the adaptive immune response.

1 Molecular Immunology, Medical Research Council (MRC) National Institute for Medical Research, The Ridgeway, London NW7 1AA, UK.
2 Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dkiouss{at}nimr.mrc.ac.uk

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