Modifications on histone tails in psychiatric disorders

The present study provides a comprehensive introduction to the features of histone tails, including their length, subtypes, nomenclature, biological functions, and regulation, and systematically reviews their roles in psychiatric disorders. A literature search was conducted, covering over 200 common histone modifications and the top 20 common psychiatric disorders. The results indicate that 26 histone tail modifications are positively associated with ten psychiatric disorders, with most located at H3 and H4 tails, and only one at the H2AX tail. All modifications occur at lysines (K), except for two at arginine (R) or serine (S). The top five modifications associated with psychiatric disorders are H3K9ac, H3K4me3, H3K27ac, H3K9me2, and γH2AX. The majority of the studies (92%) report substance use disorders, Alzheimer's disease, major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorders as the top five psychiatric disorders associated with histone tail modifications. In conclusion, histone tail modifications play crucial roles in various psychiatric disorders, and targeting them and associated epigenetic regulators may offer potential therapeutic strategies for treating psychiatric disorders by providing new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying abnormal gene expression.