Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 15, 2025

Isolation and Cultivation of Neural Progenitors Followed by Chromatin-Immunoprecipitation of Histone 3 Lysine 79 Dimethylation Mark
Published on: January 26, 2018
The H2A.Z-nuclesome code in mammals: emerging functions
Yolanda Colino-Sanguino1, Susan J Clark2, Fatima Valdes-Mora1
1Cancer Epigenetics Biology and Therapeutics, Precision Medicine Theme, Children's Cancer Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Children and Women Health, University of NSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Abstract:
H2A.Z is a histone variant that provides specific structural and docking-side properties to the nucleosome, resulting in diverse and specialised molecular and cellular functions. In this review, we discuss the latest studies uncovering new functional aspects of mammalian H2A.Z in gene transcription, including pausing and elongation of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) and enhancer activity; DNA repair; DNA replication; and 3D chromatin structure. We also review the recently described role of H2A.Z in embryonic development, cell differentiation, neurodevelopment, and brain function. In conclusion, our cumulative knowledge of H2A.Z over the past 40 years, in combination with the implementation of novel molecular technologies, is unravelling an unexpected and complex role of histone variants in gene regulation and disease.
Related Concept Videos
Histone Modification
Acetylation
The enzyme histone acetyltransferase adds acetyl group to the histones. Another enzyme, histone...
The Nucleosome Core Particle
Nucleosomes, paradoxically, perform two opposite functions simultaneously. On the one hand, their primary aim is to protect the delicate DNA strands from physical damage and help achieve a higher compaction ratio. On the other hand, they must allow polymerase enzymes to access histone-bound DNA during...
Spreading of Chromatin Modifications
Writers
The writer...
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...
Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
The Nucleosome
In a chromosome, DNA is wound twice around a protein complex called a histone octamer core, which consists of 8 histone proteins. This...

