title: The induction of H3K9 methylation by PIWIL4 at the p16Ink4a locus.
abstract: The field of epigenetics has made progress by the identification of the small RNA-mediated epigenetic modification. However, little is known about the key proteins. Here, we report that the human PIWI-like family is a candidate protein that is involved in the pathway responsible for chromatin remodeling. The PIWI-like family proteins, expressed as the Flag-fusion proteins, formed a bulky body and localized to the nuclear periphery. Transient transfection of PIWI-like 4 (PIWIL4), only member of the PIWI-like family that was ubiquitously expressed in human tissues, induced histone H3 lysine 9 methylation at the p16(Ink4a) (CDKN2A) locus. The elevated level of histone methylation resulted in the downregulation of the p16(Ink4a) gene. These results suggest PIWIL4 plays important roles in the chromatin-modifying pathway in human somatic cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kage
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aki
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kitagawa
authors.forename: Takahide
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagase
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yatomi
authors.forename: Nobuya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ohishi
authors.forename: Daiya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Takai
mesh_terms: D060565:Argonaute Proteins; D002460:Cell Line; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008239:Lysine / Q000378:metabolism*; D008745:Methylation; D011506:Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins
chemical_list: D060565:Argonaute Proteins; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; D006657:Histones; C556795:PIWIL4 protein, human; D011506:Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D008239:Lysine