Department of Physiological Chemistry, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Universiteitsweg 100, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Epigenomics. 2010 Jun;2(3):395-406. doi: 10.2217/epi.10.11.
Post-translational modifications of chromatin have become a 'booming' area of biomedical research. One particularly interesting modification that is important for eukaryotic gene expression is trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4me3), which is almost exclusively associated with active promoters of RNA polymerase II. In this article, we highlight the recent progress related to the biochemistry and biology of this histone mark, including its relevant 'writers' and 'readers'. We also outline the complex regulatory mechanisms that are involved in establishing H3K4me3 in health and disease. Further understanding of H3K4me3 regulation will offer both more insight into chromatin-based mechanisms of gene regulation and provide opportunities for epigenetic intervention of the diseased state.
染色质的翻译后修饰已成为生物医学研究的一个“热门”领域。组蛋白 H3 赖氨酸 4（H3K4me3）的三甲基化是一种特别有趣的修饰，对真核基因表达很重要，它几乎只与 RNA 聚合酶 II 的活跃启动子相关。在本文中，我们重点介绍了与这种组蛋白标记物的生物化学和生物学相关的最新进展，包括其相关的“书写者”和“读取者”。我们还概述了在健康和疾病中建立 H3K4me3 所涉及的复杂调控机制。进一步了解 H3K4me3 的调控将不仅使我们更深入地了解基于染色质的基因调控机制，还为疾病状态的表观遗传干预提供机会。
