MeCP2 Represses the Rate of Transcriptional Initiation of Highly Methylated Long Genes (Molecular Cell)

Mutations in MeCP2 cause the neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome. Although MeCP2 binding is enriched in methylated gene bodies, Boxer et al. find that MeCP2 decreases the rate of transcriptional initiation, but not elongation, of highly methylated long genes in the brain through its interaction with the NCoR co-repressor complex.