title: Histone methylation: a dynamic mark in health, disease and inheritance.
abstract: Organisms require an appropriate balance of stability and reversibility in gene expression programmes to maintain cell identity or to enable responses to stimuli; epigenetic regulation is integral to this dynamic control. Post-translational modification of histones by methylation is an important and widespread type of chromatin modification that is known to influence biological processes in the context of development and cellular responses. To evaluate how histone methylation contributes to stable or reversible control, we provide a broad overview of how histone methylation is regulated and leads to biological outcomes. The importance of appropriately maintaining or reprogramming histone methylation is illustrated by its links to disease and ageing and possibly to transmission of traits across generations.
authors.affiliation: Cell Biology Department, Harvard Medical School and Division of Newborn Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts                 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Eric L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Greer
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002107:Caenorhabditis / Q000378:metabolism; D004330:Drosophila / Q000378:metabolism; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D056466:Histone Demethylases / Q000378:metabolism; D000076983:Histone Methyltransferases; D011495:Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008745:Methylation; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D056466:Histone Demethylases; D000076983:Histone Methyltransferases; D011495:Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase