An Woojin
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, 1501 San Pablo Street, ZNI 241, MC 2821, Los Angeles, California 90089-2821, USA.
Subcell Biochem. 2007;41:351-69.
Post-synthetic modification of histone proteins in chromatin architecture plays a central role in the epigenetic regulation of transcription. Histone acetylation and methylation are the two major modifications that function as a specific transcription regulator in response to various cellular signals. Albeit the mechanism of action of these modifications in transcription is not well understood, recent discovery of histone acetyltransferase (HAT) and methyltransferase (HMT) activities within transcriptional regulators has an important implication for histone modification to be a key player for the precise regulation of transcription processes. Here, we discuss recent advances made on histone acetylation and methylation as a fundamental process to modulate gene transcription, with a particular emphasis on their combinatorial effects in transcriptional control.
染色质结构中组蛋白的合成后修饰在转录的表观遗传调控中起着核心作用。组蛋白乙酰化和甲基化是两种主要修饰，它们作为特定的转录调节因子对各种细胞信号作出反应。尽管这些修饰在转录中的作用机制尚未完全了解，但最近在转录调节因子中发现组蛋白乙酰转移酶（HAT）和甲基转移酶（HMT）活性，对于组蛋白修饰成为转录过程精确调控的关键因素具有重要意义。在此，我们讨论了组蛋白乙酰化和甲基化作为调节基因转录的基本过程的最新进展，特别强调了它们在转录控制中的组合效应。
