Munich Center for Integrated Protein Science (CiPS) and Adolf-Butenandt-Institute, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
Heredity (Edinb). 2010 Jul;105(1):24-37. doi: 10.1038/hdy.2010.49. Epub 2010 May 5.
Epigenetic mechanisms contribute to the establishment and maintenance of cell-type-specific gene expression patterns. In this review, we focus on the functions of histone lysine methylation in the context of epigenetic gene regulation during developmental transitions. Over the past few years, analysis of histone lysine methylation in active and repressive nuclear compartments and, more recently, genome-wide profiling of histone lysine methylation in different cell types have revealed correlations between particular modifications and the transcriptional status of genes. Identification of histone methyltransferases (HMTases) and specific binding factors for most methylated lysine positions has provided a novel insight into the mechanisms of epigenetic gene regulation. In addition, analyses of HMTase knockout mice show that histone lysine methylation has important functions for normal development. In this study, we review mechanisms of gene activation and repression by histone lysine methylation and discuss them in the context of the developmental roles of HMTases.
表观遗传机制有助于建立和维持细胞类型特异性基因表达模式。在这篇综述中，我们专注于组蛋白赖氨酸甲基化在发育转变过程中表观遗传基因调控中的功能。在过去的几年中，对活性和抑制性核区室中组蛋白赖氨酸甲基化的分析，以及最近对不同细胞类型中组蛋白赖氨酸甲基化的全基因组分析，揭示了特定修饰与基因转录状态之间的相关性。大多数甲基化赖氨酸位置的组蛋白甲基转移酶（HMTases）和特异性结合因子的鉴定为表观遗传基因调控机制提供了新的见解。此外，对 HMTase 敲除小鼠的分析表明，组蛋白赖氨酸甲基化对正常发育具有重要功能。在本研究中，我们综述了组蛋白赖氨酸甲基化对基因激活和抑制的机制，并讨论了它们在 HMTase 发育作用中的意义。
