title: HEMD: an integrated tool of human epigenetic enzymes and chemical modulators for therapeutics.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Epigenetic mechanisms mainly include DNA methylation, post-translational modifications of histones, chromatin remodeling and non-coding RNAs. All of these processes are mediated and controlled by enzymes. Abnormalities of the enzymes are involved in a variety of complex human diseases. Recently, potent natural or synthetic chemicals are utilized to establish the quantitative contributions of epigenetic regulation through the enzymes and provide novel insight for developing new therapeutics. However, the development of more specific and effective epigenetic therapeutics requires a more complete understanding of the chemical epigenomic landscape.
  
  
  METHODS
  Here, we present a human epigenetic enzyme and modulator database (HEMD), the database which provides a central resource for the display, search, and analysis of the structure, function, and related annotation for human epigenetic enzymes and chemical modulators focused on epigenetic therapeutics. Currently, HEMD contains 269 epigenetic enzymes and 4377 modulators in three categories (activators, inhibitors, and regulators). Enzymes are annotated with detailed description of epigenetic mechanisms, catalytic processes, and related diseases, and chemical modulators with binding sites, pharmacological effect, and therapeutic uses. Integrating the information of epigenetic enzymes in HEMD should allow for the prediction of conserved features for proteins and could potentially classify them as ideal targets for experimental validation. In addition, modulators curated in HEMD can be used to investigate potent epigenetic targets for the query compound and also help chemists to implement structural modifications for the design of novel epigenetic drugs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HEMD could be a platform and a starting point for biologists and medicinal chemists for furthering research on epigenetic therapeutics. HEMD is freely available at http://mdl.shsmu.edu.cn/HEMD/.
authors: Department of Pathophysiology and Key Laboratory of Cell Differentiation and Apoptosis of Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao-Tong University, Shanghai, China.
authors: Zhimin
authors: Z
authors: Huang
authors: Haiming
authors: H
authors: Jiang
authors: Xinyi
authors: X
authors: Liu
authors: Yingyi
authors: Y
authors: Chen
authors: Jiemin
authors: J
authors: Wong
authors: Qi
authors: Q
authors: Wang
authors: Wenkang
authors: W
authors: Huang
authors: Ting
authors: T
authors: Shi
authors: Jian
authors: J
authors: Zhang
mesh_terms: D016208:Databases, Factual; D004798:Enzymes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D014584:User-Computer Interface
chemical_list: D004798:Enzymes