In the Cissé research laboratory, we use physical techniques to visualize weak and transient biological interactions, and to study their emergent phenomena directly in living cells with single molecule sensitivity.
We are interested in the molecular events that unfold when genes are switched on inside living cells. To activate a gene, the information in its DNA must first be transcribed into molecules of RNA—a task carried out by the enzyme RNA polymerase II. The activity of this enzyme has been studied primarily in test tubes, and surprisingly little is known about how the polymerase locates and activates its target genes inside the crowded nucleus of living cells. We discovered that RNA polymerases transiently form clusters in human cells. And recently, our laboratory found that these clusters of about 100 molecules form for about 10 seconds at the site of a gene that is to be activated, and the cluster duration correlates directly with how many RNA molecules are transcribed. Now, using a combination of techniques in cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, genomics, and super-resolution imaging of live cells, we will elucidate the function of these clusters and their mechanisms of action in gene regulation. These findings will deepen our understanding of one of life’s most fundamental processes—decoding our genetic information—disruptions in which are linked to many human diseases, including most cancers and neurodegenerative diseases
We are interested in the molecular events that unfold when genes are switched on inside living cells. To activate a gene, the information in its DNA must first be transcribed into molecules of RNA—a task carried out by the enzyme RNA polymerase II. The activity of this enzyme has been studied primarily in test tubes, and surprisingly little is known about how the polymerase locates and activates its target genes inside the crowded nucleus of living cells. We discovered that RNA polymerases transiently form clusters in human cells. And recently, our laboratory found that these clusters of about 100 molecules form for about 10 seconds at the site of a gene that is to be activated, and the cluster duration correlates directly with how many RNA molecules are transcribed. Now, using a combination of techniques in cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, genomics, and super-resolution imaging of live cells, we will elucidate the function of these clusters and their mechanisms of action in gene regulation. These findings will deepen our understanding of one of life’s most fundamental processes—decoding our genetic information—disruptions in which are linked to many human diseases, including most cancers and neurodegenerative diseases
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Cissé Laboratory
Department of Physics Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Building 68-365
77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 |
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