X-chromosome inactivation in cells is caused by the XIST non-coding RNA

A. Loda, E. Heard. Xist RNA in action: Past, present, and future. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1008333

Confirms that the X-linked Xist long noncoding RNA is indispensable for XCI and initiates the process early during development.

Neil Brockdorff, Joseph S. Bowness, Guifeng Wei. Progress toward understanding chromosome silencing by Xist RNA. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1101/gad.337196.120

Identifies the Xist gene as the master regulator of X chromosome inactivation in mammals, producing a lncRNA that silences X-linked genes.

Elsie C. Jacobson, Amy Pandya-Jones, K. Plath. A lifelong duty: how Xist maintains the inactive X chromosome. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2022.101927

Reiterates that X chromosome inactivation is initiated by the lncRNA Xist, which assembles proteins to trigger gene silencing.

Zhang X, Mu Q, Wang J, Sun Y, Cao R, Guo L, Han Q, Gao J, Yu B, Wang X, Zhang L, Meng H. Xist in X chromosome inactivation: mechanisms and disease relevance.. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12964-025-02534-z

Describes Xist as a main regulator of mammalian X chromosome inactivation that silences most genes on the X chromosome.

Yuan Fu, Xuling Tan, Lixia Qin, Chunyu Wang. From inactivation to intervention: X chromosome silencing in disease pathogenesis and emerging therapeutic strategies. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gendis.2025.101964

Confirms that the Xist gene drives XCI initiation through its long non-coding RNA.