Tauopathies such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) are neurodegenerative disorders for which there is presently no cure. They are named after the abnormal oligomerization/aggregation of the neuronal microtubule-associated Tau protein. Besides its role as a microtubule-associated protein, a DNA-binding capacity and a nuclear localization for Tau protein has been described in neurons. While questioning the potential role of Tau-DNA binding in the development of tauopathies, we have carried out a large-scale analysis of the interaction of Tau protein with the neuronal genome under physiological and heat stress conditions using the ChIP-on-chip technique that combines Chromatin ImmunoPrecipitation (ChIP) with DNA microarray (chip). Our findings show that Tau protein specifically interacts with genic and intergenic DNA sequences of primary culture of neurons with a preference for DNA regions positioned beyond the ±5000 bp range from transcription start site. An AG-rich DNA motif was found recurrently present within Tau-interacting regions and 30% of Tau-interacting regions overlapped DNA sequences coding for lncRNAs. Neurological processes affected in AD were enriched among Tau-interacting regions with in vivo gene expression assays being indicative of a transcriptional repressor role for Tau protein, which was exacerbated in neurons displaying nuclear pathological oligomerized forms of Tau protein.

. Rapid upregulation of IFN-␤ gene expression occurs after recognition of viral nucleic acids by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) consisting of either cytosolic receptors, such as retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) and melanoma differentiation-associated antigen 5 (MDA-5), or membrane-associated Toll-like receptors, such as Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) (3). After sensing single-or doublestranded RNA of viral origin, these receptors activate signaling pathways, implicating the phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of several transcription factors, among which is interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3), rapidly leading downstream to a robust activation of expression of the IFN-␤ gene. After being secreted, the IFN-␤ protein binds to the type I interferon receptor and triggers the JAK-STAT1/2 signal transduction pathway. This pathway leads to the activation and inhibition of the expression of a large set of genes that constitute the type I IFN response mounted to antagonize viral infection at different levels (4).Mice lacking IFN-␤ (5) or the subunit of the type I interferon receptor (6, 7) are highly susceptible to viral infections. They succumb to sublethal doses of a variety of viruses, thus confirming the main role of IFN-␤ in the establishment of an innate antiviral response. However, beyond the antiviral response, IFN-␤ affects a wide range of other biological functions; for the most part, these are related to modulation of the immune (innate and adaptive) and inflammatory responses as well as to cell proliferation and differentiation. Even though IFN-␤ has been described to have an anti-inflammatory benefit, it has also been implicated in the development of several inflammatory and autoimmune diseases (8-10). Hence, the beneficial or detrimental outcome of IFN-␤ expression for the organism depends on the timing and kinetics of IFN-␤ synthesis and the amount of IFN-␤ being synthesized (11,12). If a marked activation of IFN-␤ gene expression is required to efficiently set up the appropriate response to an external aggression, such as virus infection, this response needs to be adjusted in order to limit its pathological side effects.As expected for a gene with pleiotropic functions, its transcriptional state is regulated at different levels. At the cellular level, only a stochastic fraction of the infected cells produces 14) as a way to avoid an exacerbated and uncontrolled IFN response. At the nuclear level, one IFN-␤ allele localizes within interchromosomal regions rich in NF-B DNA binding sites before and after infection (15), whereas the other allele localizes next to pericentromeric heterochromatin (PCH) clusters in the absence of infection and dissociates from PCH clusters during infection (16). The monoallelic characteristic of these particular subnuclear localizations suggests that a yet undeciphered regulatory mechanism exists at the chromosome level. Finally, at the promoter level, the coordinated action of several transcription factors and chromatin-remodeling complexes (17-21) regulates the...