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Related Concept Videos

Histone Modification02:32

Histone Modification

The histone proteins have a flexible N-terminal tail extending out from the nucleosome. These histone tails are often subjected to post-translational modifications such as acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination. Particular combinations of these modifications form “histone codes” that influence the chromatin folding and tissue-specific gene expression.
Acetylation
The enzyme histone acetyltransferase adds acetyl group to the histones. Another enzyme, histone deacetylase,...
Histone Modification02:32

Histone Modification

The histone proteins have a flexible N-terminal tail extending out from the nucleosome. These histone tails are often subjected to post-translational modifications such as acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination. Particular combinations of these modifications form “histone codes” that influence the chromatin folding and tissue-specific gene expression.
Acetylation
The enzyme histone acetyltransferase adds acetyl group to the histones. Another enzyme, histone deacetylase,...
Spreading of Chromatin Modifications02:25

Spreading of Chromatin Modifications

The histone proteins in the nucleosomes are post-translationally modified (PTM) to increase or decrease access to DNA. The commonly observed PTMs are methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, and ubiquitination of lysine amino acids in the histone H3 tail region. These histone modifications have specific meaning for the cell. Hence, they are called "histone code". The protein complex involved in histone modification is termed as "reader-writer" complex.
Writers
The writer is an enzyme that can...
Heterochromatin02:38

Heterochromatin

The extent of chromatin compaction can be studied by staining chromatin using specific DNA binding dyes. Under the microscope, the dense-compacted regions that take up more dye are called heterochromatin. Heterochromatin is further classified into two forms – constitutive heterochromatin and facultative heterochromatin.
Constitutive heterochromatin: It is a highly compact region of chromatin that is mostly concentrated in the centromere and telomere. Unlike euchromatin, the amino acid at 9th...
Euchromatin01:01

Euchromatin

The extent of chromatin compaction can be studied by staining chromatin using specific DNA binding dyes. Under the microscope, the dense-compacted regions take up more dye, appearing darker, while the less-compact areas take up less dye and appear lighter. Based on the compaction level, chromatins are classified into two primary forms – euchromatin and heterochromatin.
Euchromatin is the less dense region of the chromatin and stains lighter. Euchromatin contains histone H3 extensively...
Eukaryotic Transcription Inhibitors01:52

Eukaryotic Transcription Inhibitors

Certain biochemical processes, such as embryonic development and cell growth regulation, depend on the repression of specific genes. DNA binding proteins known as eukaryotic transcription inhibitors regulate the repression of gene expression in eukaryotes. The presence of these inhibitors at the required location and time in the cell is triggered by the presence of hormones and additional signals from other cells.
Eukaryotic transcription inhibitors usually contain two distinct domains, a DNA...

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Repressing Gene Transcription by Redirecting Cellular Machinery with Chemical Epigenetic Modifiers
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Repression of transposable elements by histone biotinylation.

Janos Zempleni1, Yap Ching Chew, Baolong Bao

  • 1Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA. jzempleni2@unl.edu

The Journal of Nutrition
|October 9, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Biotinylation of histone H4 at lysine-12 (H4K12bio) epigenetically represses transposable elements, preventing genome instability and cancer risk. Depletion of H4K12bio increases retrotransposition and chromosomal abnormalities.

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In Vitro Selection of Engineered Transcriptional Repressors for Targeted Epigenetic Silencing

Published on: May 5, 2023

Area of Science:

  • Genetics
  • Epigenetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Transposable elements comprise over 40% of the human genome, and their uncontrolled transposition can lead to genome instability and increased cancer risk.
  • Epigenetic mechanisms, including histone modifications, are crucial for repressing retrotransposons and preventing their harmful activity.
  • Holocarboxylase synthetase (HCS)-mediated histone biotinylation is an emerging epigenetic mark involved in gene regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review and summarize recent findings on the role of histone H4 lysine-12 biotinylation (H4K12bio) as an epigenetic mechanism for repressing long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons.
  • To present evidence linking H4K12bio depletion to increased retrotransposition, viral particle production, and chromosomal abnormalities.
  • To propose a hypothetical mechanism for HCS targeting and the synergistic action of histone modifications in LTR repression.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on histone biotinylation and retrotransposon repression.
  • Analysis of data from human and mouse cell lines, primary human cells, and Drosophila melanogaster.
  • Hypothesis formulation based on observed interactions and known epigenetic pathways.

Main Results:

  • H4K12bio functions as an epigenetic mechanism to repress LTR retrotransposons across various species and cell types.
  • Depletion of H4K12bio causally leads to increased retrotransposition, viral particle production, and chromosomal abnormalities.
  • HCS interacts with histones H3 and H4, suggesting a role in mediating these repressive marks.

Conclusions:

  • H4K12bio is a key epigenetic regulator of LTR retrotransposon activity, impacting genome stability.
  • The proposed mechanism involves HCS targeting to methylated cytosine-rich regions, leading to H4K12bio and subsequent H3K9 dimethylation.
  • This synergistic action of diet-dependent histone modifications offers a novel insight into retrotransposon repression and cancer prevention.