Locus of (IL-9) control: IL9 epigenetic regulation in cellular function and human disease

Interleukin-9 (IL-9) is a multifunctional cytokine with roles in a broad cross-section of human diseases. Like many cytokines, IL-9 is transcriptionally regulated by a group of noncoding regulatory elements (REs) surrounding the IL9 gene. These REs modulate IL-9 transcription by forming 3D loops that recruit transcriptional machinery. IL-9-promoting transcription factors (TFs) can bind REs to increase locus accessibility and permit chromatin looping, or they can be recruited to already accessible chromatin to promote transcription. Ample mechanistic and genome-wide association studies implicate this interplay between IL-9-modulating TFs and IL9 cis-REs in human physiology, homeostasis, and disease.