title: Class II histone deacetylases: versatile regulators.
abstract: Histone acetylation and deacetylation play essential roles in modifying chromatin structure and regulating gene expression in eukaryotes. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) catalyze the deacetylation of lysine residues in the histone N-terminal tails and are found in large multiprotein complexes with transcriptional co-repressors. Human HDACs are grouped into three classes based on their similarity to known yeast factors: class I HDACs are similar to the yeast transcriptional repressor yRPD3, class II HDACs to yHDA1 and class III HDACs to ySIR2. In this review, we focus on the biology of class II HDACs. These newly discovered enzymes have been implicated as global regulators of gene expression during cell differentiation and development. We discuss their emerging biological functions and the molecular mechanisms by which they are regulated.
authors.affiliation: Gladstone Institute of Virology and Immunology, University of California San Francisco, PO Box 419100, San Francisco, CA 94141, USA. everdin@gladstone.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Verdin
authors.forename: Franck
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dequiedt
authors.forename: Herbert G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Kasler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006655:Histone Deacetylases / Q000502:physiology*; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008239:Lysine / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D006655:Histone Deacetylases; D008239:Lysine