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Recent Advances in Understanding Histone Modification Events

  • Epigenetics (J Davie and C Nelson, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Molecular Biology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

This review will discuss histone modification events that have been recently discovered or significant technical advancements made in the last year. The physiological state of the eukaryotic genome is chromatin. Chromatin is a complex of DNA and primarily histone proteins. The post-translational modification of histones and the occupancy of specific histone variants in a given nucleosome play a central role in the regulation of the genome. Histone variants and modifications exist in complex and unique combinations. The resulting diversity allows for histones to play key roles in almost all cellular processes and their dysregulation is often the root cause of many diseases. In particular, epigenetic alterations have been noted in cancer, are associated with its progression, aggressiveness, and metastasis, and are useful in its prognosis. Thus, a deep understanding of histone variants and modifications is needed to comprehend both normal cellular function and disease.

Recent Findings

Technological advancements have dramatically improved our quantitative understanding of histone modification events, decreased sample requirements, and revealed nuances about how these events work together. Specifically, the miniaturization of ChIP-seq and the continuing use and development of mass spectrometric approaches for histone analysis have revealed interesting and diverse new aspects of chromatin biology.

Summary

This review will explore the causes, mechanisms, and downstream functions of these newly discovered events. We will conclude with an outlook on the future of histone modification analysis and its biological impact.

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References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the National Insitute of Health, NIH P01 GM085354.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Verna & Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030-3411, USA

    Matthew V. Holt, Tao Wang & Nicolas L. Young

  2. Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030-3411, USA

    Nicolas L. Young

Authors
  1. Matthew V. Holt
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  2. Tao Wang
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  3. Nicolas L. Young
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolas L. Young.

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Conflict of Interest

Matthew V. Holt, Tao Wang, and Nicolas L. Young each declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Epigenetics

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Holt, M.V., Wang, T. & Young, N.L. Recent Advances in Understanding Histone Modification Events. Curr Mol Bio Rep 3, 11–17 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40610-017-0050-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40610-017-0050-1

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