In this paper Aloia et al. reveal that ZRF1 plays a crucial role in oncogene-induced senescence (OIS) by activating the INK4/ARF locus, thus working as a tumor suppressor.
This study shows that the direct interaction between Id1 and Zrf1 blocks Zrf1 recruitment to chromatin thus impairing neural commitment of embryonic stem cells. During differentiation, Id1 levels decrease allowing Zrf1 to activate neural genes.
By elucidating a network of NuRD complex interactions with substoichiometric proteins, the authors have greatly increased our understanding of MBD3–NuRD structure and stability.
This work demonstrates that the general function of PRC2 in mammals is not to initiate the repression of target genes but rather to recognize their repressed state. thus allowing gene silencing to be maintained.
By determining the structure of MTA1-RbAp48 structure, the authors were able to reveal that the MTA subunits act as scaffolds for NuRD complex assembly.