Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40179879›Full record

ArticleMolecular cell2025

Ultrastable and versatile multimeric ensembles of FoxP3 on microsatellites.

Fangwei Leng, Raquel Merino-Urteaga, Xi Wang, Wenxiang Zhang, Taekjip Ha, Sun Hur

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular cell, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Fangwei LengHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Institute of Immunology, Chinese Institutes for Medical Research, Beijing 100069, China.
Raquel Merino-UrteagaHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Xi WangHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Wenxiang ZhangHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Shanghai Institute of Immunology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, China.
Taekjip HaHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: taekjip.ha@childrens.harvard.edu.
Sun HurHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: sun.hur@crystal.harvard.edu.

Funding

Single Molecule Studies of Nucleic Acids RemodelingR35GM122569 · NIGMS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Taekjip Ha · 2017 to 2026
$3.5M
Mechanism of the transcription factor FoxP3 in regulatory T cell developmentR01AI180137 · NIAID · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · PI Sun Hur · 2024 to 2026
$2.4M
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI180137NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM122569
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Microsatellites are essential genomic components increasingly linked to transcriptional regulation. FoxP3, a transcription factor critical for regulatory T cell (Treg) development, recognizes TTTG repeat microsatellites by forming multimers along DNA. However, FoxP3 also binds a broader range of TnG repeats (n = 2-5), often at the edges of accessible chromatin regions. This raises questions about how FoxP3 adapts to sequence variability and the potential role of nucleosomes. Using cryoelectron microscopy and single-molecule analyses, we show that murine FoxP3 assembles into various distinct supramolecular structures, depending on DNA sequence. This structural plasticity enables FoxP3 to bridge 2-4 DNA duplexes, forming ultrastable structures that coordinate multiple genomic loci. Nucleosomes further facilitate FoxP3 assembly by inducing local DNA bending, creating a nucleus that recruits distal DNA elements through multiway bridging. Our findings thus reveal FoxP3's unusual ability to shapeshift to accommodate evolutionarily dynamic microsatellites and its potential to reinforce chromatin boundaries and three-dimensional genomic architecture.

Indexed as

DNAForkhead Transcription FactorsMicrosatellite RepeatsAnimalsChromatinCryoelectron MicroscopyHumansMiceMice, Inbred C57BLNucleic Acid ConformationNucleosomesT-Lymphocytes, RegulatoryChromatinDNAForkhead Transcription FactorsFoxp3 protein, mouseNucleosomeschromatin loopsDNA bridgingFoxp3microsatellitesmulti-way bridgingnucleosomeregulatory T cellsshort tandem repeatssupramolecular assembliestranscription factor

Identifiers

PMID40179879
PMCPMC12370179

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.