Rett syndrome gene expression
Modified with permission from Baker SA et al. Cell, 2013
Function of MeCP2
The wild-type MeCP2 protein binds regions of DNA that is bound in chromatin through its Methyl binding domain and to AT-rich DNA sequences through conserved basic amino acids (+++). Such binding leads to changes in chromatin architecture which suppresses the expression of certain genes. When MeCP2 is mutated, as during Rett, the altered chromatin architecture changes the expression of other genes.
