Enhancer–promoter interactions and transcription

A new study addresses whether transcription of enhancers and the resulting enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) play a role in mediating long-range interactions between enhancers and promoters. Studying the immunoglobulin heavy chain (Igh) locus, the authors find that transcription of the enhancers per se is required to establish but not maintain these interactions, and this mechanism may apply to a subset of other enhancer–promoter interactions.