title: Histone chaperones: an escort network regulating histone traffic.
abstract: In eukaryotes, DNA is organized into chromatin in a dynamic manner that enables it to be accessed for processes such as transcription and repair. Histones, the chief protein component of chromatin, must be assembled, replaced or exchanged to preserve or change this organization according to cellular needs. Histone chaperones are key actors during histone metabolism. Here we classify known histone chaperones and discuss how they build a network to escort histone proteins. Molecular interactions with histones and their potential specificity or redundancy are also discussed in light of chaperone structural properties. The multiplicity of histone chaperone partners, including histone modifiers, nucleosome remodelers and cell-cycle regulators, is relevant to their coordination with key cellular processes. Given the current interest in chromatin as a source of epigenetic marks, we address the potential contributions of histone chaperones to epigenetic memory and genome stability.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nuclear Dynamics and Genome Plasticity (UMR 218), Institut Curie, 26 rue d'Ulm, 75248 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Leanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Koning
authors.forename: Armelle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Corpet
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Haber
authors.forename: Geneviève
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Almouzni
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D004260:DNA Repair; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D042822:Genomic Instability; D056488:Histone Chaperones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D006657:Histones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D021381:Protein Transport; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D056488:Histone Chaperones; D006657:Histones