Constitutive heterochromatin, an essential structure that has been conserved throughout evolution, is required to maintain genome stability. Although heterochromatin is enriched for repressive traits, it can be actively transcribed to generate thousands of noncoding RNAs that are required for correct chromatin assembly. Despite the importance of this structure, how and why heterochromatin transcription is regulated, and the proteins responsible for this regulation, remain poorly understood. Here, we summarize recent findings in heterochromatin transcription regulation during different cellular processes with a focus on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which elicits important changes in cell behavior, has a key role in early development, and is involved in cancer progression.
Keywords: epithelial to mesenchymal transition; heterochromatin; histones.