title: KATapulting toward Pluripotency and Cancer.
abstract: Development is generally regarded as a unidirectional process that results in the acquisition of specialized cell fates. During this process, cellular identity is precisely defined by signaling cues that tailor the chromatin landscape for cell-specific gene expression programs. Once established, these pathways and cell states are typically resistant to disruption. However, loss of cell identity occurs during tumor initiation and upon injury response. Moreover, terminally differentiated cells can be experimentally provoked to become pluripotent. Chromatin reorganization is key to the establishment of new gene expression signatures and thus new cell identity. Here, we explore an emerging concept that lysine acetyltransferase (KAT) enzymes drive cellular plasticity in the context of somatic cell reprogramming and tumorigenesis.
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems Biology, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto M5G 1X5, Canada. Electronic address: hirsch@lunenfeld.ca.
authors.forename: Calley L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hirsch
authors.affiliation: Center for Systems Biology, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto M5G 1X5, Canada; Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 1A8, Canada.
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wrana
authors.affiliation: Center for Cancer Epigenetics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Science Park, Smithville, TX 78957, USA. Electronic address: sroth@mdanderson.org.
authors.forename: Sharon Y R
authors.initials: SYR
authors.lastname: Dent
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063646:Carcinogenesis; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D000070837:Lysine Acetyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D000070837:Lysine Acetyltransferases
keywords: acetylation; embryonic stem cells; histone; plasticity; reprogramming