title: Histone methyltransferases: novel targets for tumor and developmental defects.
abstract: Histone lysine methylation plays a critical role in epigenetic regulation of eukaryotes. To date, studies have shown that lysine residues of K4, K9, K27, K36 and K79 in histone H3 and K20 in histone H4 can be modified by histone methyltransferases (HMTs). Such histone methylation can specifically activate or repress the transcriptional activity to play a key role in gene expression/regulation and biological genetics. Importantly, abnormities of patterns or levels of histone methylation in higher eukaryotes may result in tumorigenesis and developmental defects, suggesting histone methylation will be one of the important targets or markers for treating these diseases. This review will outline the structural characteristics, active sites and specificity of HMTs, correlation between histone methylation and human diseases and lay special emphasis on the progress of the research on H3K36 methylation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhan 430060, China; Cardiovascular Research Institute, Wuhan UniversityWuhan 430060, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhan 430060, China; Cardiovascular Research Institute, Wuhan UniversityWuhan 430060, China.
authors.forename: Xue-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhan 430060, China; Cardiovascular Research Institute, Wuhan UniversityWuhan 430060, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Yan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan 430030, China; Heart-Lung Transplantation Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan 430030, China; Sino-Swiss Heart-Lung Transplantation Institute, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhan 430030, China.
authors.forename: Ding-Sheng
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Jiang
keywords: Histone lysine methylation; epigenetic modification; histone methyltransferases