The spatial conformation of chromatin within the confines of eukaryotic cell nuclei is now acknowledged as a decisive epigenetic mechanism for the modulation of such cellular functions as gene expression regulation, DNA replication or DNA damage repair. Of course, these processes are tightly regulated during organismal development and markedly affected by cellular ageing. Thus, the question that arises is to what extent does folding or refolding of the genome in three-dimensional space underlie the progression of development or ageing? Herein, we discuss recent experimental and modelling evidence to address this question and revisit how these seemingly different processed might represent two sides of the same coin.

中文翻译：

---

基因组在分化和细胞衰老中折叠和重折叠。

现已确认，在真核细胞核范围内染色质的空间构象是决定性的表观遗传机制，用于调节诸如基因表达调节，DNA复制或DNA损伤修复等细胞功能。当然，这些过程在机体发育过程中受到严格调节，并受到细胞老化的显着影响。因此，出现的问题是在三维空间中基因组的折叠或重折叠在多大程度上是发育或衰老过程的基础？本文中，我们讨论了最近的实验和建模证据来解决这个问题，并重新审视这些看似不同的处理过程可能代表同一枚硬币的两个方面。