Preparation and Biochemical Analysis of Classical Histone Deacetylases

Histone deacetylase assays were first developed in the 1970s, and subsequently refined in the 1990s with the cloning of HDAC enzymes. Most of these early assays, relying on traditional in vitro chemical methodologies, are still applicable today. More recently, however, cell-based HDAC assays that measure HDAC activities in physiological conditions are emerging. Also, there is a continuing development of assays that can measure an isolated HDAC in the absence of other HDAC activities. This chapter reviews some of the older established methods for assaying HDAC activities, as well as introduces more recently developed nontraditional assays.