Which pathways govern intestinal epithelial differentiation under constitutive conditions? Epithelial differentiation is largely controlled by the tissue-specific activity of transcription factors. Access to DNA is provided by accessible chromatin (euchromatin), while compacted heterochromatin limits access of transcription factors to DNA. Researchers at the TU Dresden Center for Regenerative Therapies (CRTD) have investigated the significance of the regulation of heterochromatin formation in the intestinal epithelium and published their findings in the renowned international scientific journal Gut.