Figure 1

Model of enhancer function. Transcriptional enhancer elements are noncoding stretches of DNA that regulate gene expression levels, most often in cis. Active enhancer elements are located in open chromatin sensitive to DNase I digestion and flanked by histones marked with H3K4me1 and H3K27ac. Enhancers are often bound by a number of transcription factors (TF), such as p300 (blue). Mediator and cohesin are part of a complex (orange, green and purple) that mediates physical contacts between enhancers and their target promoters.