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Updated: Jun 26, 2026
05:44
An Acetyl-Click Chemistry Assay to Measure Histone Acetyltransferase 1 Acetylation
Published on: January 26, 2024
The double-histone-acetyltransferase complex ATAC is essential for mammalian development
Sebastián Guelman1, Kenji Kozuka, Yifan Mao
1Department of Pathology, Genentech Inc., 1 DNA Way MS 72B, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA.
Molecular and Cellular Biology
|December 24, 2008
Summary
Researchers identified a new mammalian histone acetyltransferase (HAT) complex, ATAC, crucial for development. ATAC2 is vital for the complex’s stability and function, impacting histone acetylation and embryonic development.
Area of Science:
- Epigenetics
- Molecular Biology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Histone acetylation, catalyzed by histone acetyltransferases (HATs), is key to active chromatin.
- Mammalian HAT complexes, including the ATAC complex, are involved in chromatin regulation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize a novel mammalian HAT complex containing GCN5 and ATAC2.
- To elucidate the role of ATAC2 in the complex's structure and function.
- To determine the essential role of the ATAC complex in mammalian development.
Main Methods:
- Characterization of a novel mammalian HAT complex.
- Recombinant expression and activity assay of ATAC2.
- Depletion studies of ATAC2 in mammalian cells.
- Targeted disruption of the Atac2 locus in mice.
Main Results:
- A novel mammalian ATAC complex containing GCN5 and ATAC2 was identified.
- ATAC2 exhibits weak HAT activity towards histone H4 and is essential for complex stability.
- Depletion of ATAC2 leads to complex disassembly.
- Targeted disruption of Atac2 is lethal, demonstrating the ATAC complex's essential role in embryogenesis.
Conclusions:
- ATAC2 has both enzymatic and architectural roles in the mammalian ATAC complex.
- The ATAC complex is essential for mammalian development, regulating histone acetylation, cell cycle, and apoptosis during embryogenesis.
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