Additional Information

Dr. Sanjeev Shukla studied the mechanism of CD45 alternative splicing during his postdoctoral work. He identified a novel mechanism of alternative splicing regulation, wherein, a sequence-specific DNA binding protein CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) regulates differential inclusion of alternate exons by promoting RNA polymerase II pause. An increased Pol II pause promoted by CTCF favors spliceosome assembly and the inclusion of alternative exon. In contrast, DNA methylation inhibits CTCF binding, thereby reducing pol II pause and leading to alternate exon exclusion.