Agnese Loda

Chromatin spatial analysis by METALoci unveils sex-determining 3D regulatory hubs - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology METALoci, a new three-dimensional genome computational tool, reveals a major rewiring of regulatory interactions during sex determination. By combining this method with transgenic models, the authors ...

Tempted to add Metal gifs; that's how cool METALoci sounds!
In their recent article @natsmb.nature.com, @dariloops.bsky.social @mamartirenom.bsky.social @jrotwitguez.bsky.social @imotagom.bsky.social and colleagues shed light on sex-determining 3D regulatory hubs.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This is such a beautiful work, congratulations to all authors! 👏👏👏👏

Remodeling of XIST regulatory landscape during primate evolution How gene regulation strategies rapidly evolve across short evolutionary timescales is explored.

Our paper on the evolution of XIST regulatory network in primates is now published in Science Advances! Check out the paper www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... or a digest of our findings emmanuelczt.github.io/posts/2026/0... A short 🧵 of our main findings 👇

Congratulation Emmanuel, it’s a very cool story and I’m so happy to see it out! It was a lot of fun collaborating with you and the rest of the team - thank you 💫💫💫!!

Interested in transcriptional regulation, enhancers and 3D genome folding?

In this new study we wondered about the role of cohesin loading at enhancers for long-range transcriptional control

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

detailed 🧵👇

SS18::SSX activates Polycomb target genes without BAF ❌
Instead, transcription relies on EP300 via the SS18 QPGY domain
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
➡️ Coactivator targeting emerges as a new therapeutic strategy in synovial sarcoma 🎯
Team work from @banitolab.bsky.social and @uoe-igc.bsky.social

XIST Drives X-Chromosome Inactivation and Safeguards Female Extraembryonic Cells in Humans Dosage compensation of sex chromosomes through X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) is required for mice extra-embryonic tissue growth and embryo development. The species specificity in mechanisms and timi...

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭! 🎉
“𝐗𝐈𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐗-𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬” 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐑𝐱𝐢𝐯!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

I am very happy (and a bit scared) to present to you what we have been working on over the last 4 years. This manuscript is exactly what I dreamt of when I started the lab and I could not be happier and prouder of the outcome!

The transcription of a single olfactory receptor per neuron is enforced by epigenetic silencing of their enhancers The ability to discriminate thousands of odors in our environment requires each olfactory neuron to express a single olfactory receptor from hundreds of available genes. The biochemical mechanism enfo...

This went under the radar but answers a fundamental question in Epigenetics...

From many hundreds of olfactory receptor genes, each neuron selects expression of only single one (near-randomly). How?

Outstanding work from Mathieu Boulard and colleagues

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Escape from X inactivation is directly modulated by Xist noncoding RNA - Nature Cell Biology The authors show that increased Xist RNA levels can induce de novo silencing of genes that normally escape X inactivation. SPEN depletion prevents the silencing of escape genes upon Xist RNA overexpre...

☕The authors show that increased #Xist RNA levels can induce de novo silencing of genes that normally escape #Xinactivation. SPEN depletion prevents the silencing of escape genes upon Xist RNA overexpression in neural progenitors. @agneseloda.bsky.social @heardlab.bsky.social
bit.ly/3YUnzhw

Interphase chromosome conformation is specified by distinct folding programmes inherited through mitotic chromosomes or the cytoplasm - Nature Cell Biology Schooley et al. find that mitotically bookmarked loci drive a transient chromosome folding state during G1 entry that is subsequently modulated by factors inherited through the cytoplasm.

Exciting new paper out! @allanaschooley.bsky.social and Sergey Venev led this project that let to the discovery of two chromosome folding programs: one inherited via mitotic chromosomes and one mitotic inherited through the cytoplasm!

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Great opportunity - wonderful team and research 👇👇👇👇!!

Epigenetics Update - Escape from X inactivation is directly modulated by Xist noncoding RNA go.nature.com/49jeLH5

Edith Heard and Agnese Loda (EMBL) reporting in Nat Cell Biol

#Epigenetics #Xist #XInactivation #Chromatin
---

Perfect for cancer, immunology, and aging research; epigenometech.com

Thank you so much Daan!

Thank you Deborah 🤗!

Thank you Abrar!

Thank you Juliane 🎉!

Thank you Max!

This study was made possible by fantastic collaborations within the @heardlab.bsky.social and beyond. Huge thanks and congratulations to everyone who contributed! 🤩🤩🤩🎉🎉🎉🥳🥳🥳 @odomlab.bsky.social @oliverstegle.bsky.social @howardychang.bsky.social @JudithZaugg

We propose that natural fluctuations in Xist RNA levels - during development, in adult tissues, or disease - tune escapee gene dosage, laying the groundwork to explore Xist as a molecular signature of X-linked gene mis-regulation in health and disease.

Xist-mediated repression of escapees is SPEN-dependent and reshapes Xi 3D organization: TAD-like domains over escapee clusters are lost upon silencing and re-emerged when transcription resumes.

We show that increasing levels of Xist RNA repress escapee genes, well beyond early development, in differentiated, non-dividing cells and in vivo post implantation embryos.

Escape from X inactivation is directly modulated by Xist noncoding RNA Nature Cell Biology - The authors show that increased Xist RNA levels can induce de novo silencing of genes that normally escape X inactivation. SPEN depletion prevents the silencing of escape...

Very happy to share our paper rdcu.be/eUImj out today in @natcellbio.nature.com 🎉🎉🎉
We uncover an unexpected role for endogenous Xist RNA in regulating X-linked genes that escape X-inactivation.

We are excited to share our new preprint:

SMARCA2/4-Dependent Chromatin Remodelling Establishes Gene Regulatory Programs in Early Human Embryos and Blastoids.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.01.691499v1

Poster advertising the 6th X-inactivation meeting from Oct 19-23 2026 in Sapporo, Japan. The organizers are Asato Kuriowa, Edda Schulz, Ikuhiro Okamoto, Rafael Galupa, Takashi Sado, Mitinori Saitou.

📣 SAVE THE DATE
Next X-inactivation meeting in Sapporo, Japan, 19-23 October 2026. Visit x-inactivation-meeting.org to join our mailing list. 🧬 speakers @dandergassen.bsky.social @marnieblewitt.bsky.social @heard65.bsky.social @crougeulle.bsky.social @sexchrlab.bsky.social @zhouqi1982.bsky.social

In this episode we talked with @pasquelab.bsky.social from KU Leuven about his work on the reprogramming of cell identity through epigenetic mechanisms, particularly during early development and cellular reprogramming. #epigenetics #podcast

Listen here: activemotif.com/podcasts-vin...

Enhancer-promoter compatibility is mediated by the promoter-proximal region Gene promoters induce transcription in response to distal enhancers. How enhancers specifically activate their target promoter while bypassing other promoters remains unclear. Here, we find that the p...

What is a promoter? And how does it work?

We very happy to share our latest work trying to understand enhancer-promoter compatibility.
I am very excited about the results of @blanka-majchrzycka.bsky.social, which changed the way I think about promoters

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Epigenetic relay: Polycomb-directed DNA methylation in mammalian development In mammals, repression of germline-specific gene expression is essential for preserving somatic cell identity and preventing disease. Germline gene silencing is often dependent on the presence of prom...

Very excited to share an excellent review from @teresa-urli.bsky.social, published one week before her PhD defense! We did a deep dive into the fascinating biology of the variant Polycomb complex, PRC1.6 (1/5) journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...

Fantastic news Juliane! Super well deserved - I’m looking forward to seeing your lab in action!! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

Team Leader – Genomics Core Facility and Method Development Are you ready to lead a cutting-edge Genomics Core facility while developing state of the art genomics methods? Join us at EMBL! We are seeking talented scientists to develop and lead a cutting-edge G...

Open Team Leader position @embl.org to head & reshape our Genomics Core facility. Interested in providing & developing state-of-the art omics tech to a wide community? A very vibrant, dynamic place to work with fantastic colleagues. Closing Sept 30th
embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/EMBL/j...