BMC Genomics (Jul 2019)

Genome-wide localization of the polyphenol quercetin in human monocytes

  • Dana Atrahimovich,
  • Avraham O. Samson,
  • Yifthah Barsheshet,
  • Jacob Vaya,
  • Soliman Khatib,
  • Eli Reuveni

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-019-5966-9
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract Background Quercetin is a polyphenol of great interest given its antioxidant activity and involvement in the immune response. Although quercetin has been well studied at the molecular level as a gene regulator and an activator of specific cellular pathways, not much attention has been given to its mechanism of action at the genome-wide level. The present study aims to characterize quercetin’s interaction with cellular DNA and to show its subsequent effect on downstream transcription. Results Two massive parallel DNA-sequencing technologies were used: Chem-seq and RNA-seq. We demonstrate that upon binding to DNA or genome-associated proteins, quercetin acts as a cis-regulatory transcription factor for the expression of genes that are involved in the cell cycle, differentiation and development. Conclusions Such findings could provide new and important insights into the mechanisms by which the dietary polyphenol quercetin influences cellular functions.

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