Tuning acetylated chromatin with HAT inhibitors: a novel tool for therapy.
Epigenetics, the heritable changes that do not involve DNA sequences, give dynamic propulsion to a static genome and modulate genome accessibility by acting through multiple layers of regulation, ultimately ending with a variable organization of chromatin. The main player in chromatin reprograming is the nucleosome, which modifies its association to DNA depending on a variety of post-translational modifications (PTMs) on histone tails. PTMs act directly on higher order chromatin structures and affect the degree of DNA wrap around the histone octamer and the interaction and/or sequential recruitment of chromatin-associated proteins and transcription factors at defined regions. Recently genomic approaches revealed a far more complex epigenome involving key proteins of cell signaling.
Vernarecci
Stefano
S
Istituto di Biologia e Patologia Molecolari, CNR, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy.
Tosi
Federica
F
Filetici
Patrizia
P
D000107:Acetylation / Q000187:drug effects; D000818:Animals; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004843:Epistasis, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics
D002843:Chromatin; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases