From histones to ribosomes: a chromatin regulator tangoes with translation.
Histone lysine methylation is a critical regulator of chromatin-templated processes such as gene transcription and DNA repair, and is dynamically controlled by enzymes that write and erase this posttranslational modification. Although histone methylation has been well studied, the functions of nonhistone lysine methylation and its regulatory enzymes, particularly outside the nucleus, are poorly defined. In this issue of Cancer Discovery, Van Rechem and colleagues shed light on a new role for the lysine demethylase KDM4A as a regulator of protein translation and identify a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the KDM4A gene as a candidate biomarker for mTOR inhibitor therapy.
Center for Epigenetics, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan. brian_strahl@med.unc.edu scott.rothbart@vai.org.
Scott B
SB
Rothbart
Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Bradley M
BM
Dickson
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. brian_strahl@med.unc.edu scott.rothbart@vai.org.
Brian D
BD
Strahl
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D056484:Jumonji Domain-Containing Histone Demethylases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008239:Lysine / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D056484:Jumonji Domain-Containing Histone Demethylases; C494424:KDM4A protein, human; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D008239:Lysine