title: ATRX: the case of a peculiar chromatin remodeler.
abstract: The SWI/SNF-like chromatin remodeler ATRX has recently garnered renewed attention. ATRX mutations were first identified in patients bearing the syndrome after which it is named, alpha thalassemia/mental retardation, X-linked. While ATRX has long been implicated in transcriptional regulation through multiple mechanisms, recent studies have identified a role for ATRX in the regulation of histone variant deposition. In addition, current reports describe ATRX to be mutated at high percentages in multiple tumor types, suggestive of a potential 'driver' role in cancer. Here we discuss the numerous and seemingly diverse roles for ATRX in transcriptional regulation and histone deposition and suggest that ATRX's effects are mediated by its regulation of histones within the chromatin template.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncological Sciences, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kajan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ratnakumar
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bernstein
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; D054856:G-Quadruplexes; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D038901:X-Linked Intellectual Disability / Q000378:metabolism; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D017085:alpha-Thalassemia / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006657:Histones; D009687:Nuclear Proteins