Epigenetic metalloenzymes.

Epigenetic metalloenzymes. Curr Med Chem. 2018 Jul 05;: Authors: Blanquart C, Linot C, Cartron PF, Tomaselli D, Mai A, Bertrand P Abstract Epigenetics control the expression of genes and is responsible for the cellular phenotypes. The fundamental basis of these mechanisms involves in part the post-translational modifications (PTMs) of DNA and proteins, in particular the nuclear histones. DNA can be methylated or demethylated on cytosine. Histones are marked by several modifications including acetylation and/or methylation, and of particular importance are the covalent modifications of lysine. It exists a balance between addition and removal of these PTMs, leading to three groups of enzymes involved in these processes: the writers adding marks, the erasers removing them, and the readers able to detect these marks and participating in the recruitment of transcription factors. The stimulation or the repression in the expression of genes is thus the result of a subtle equilibrium between all the possibilities coming from the combinations of these PTMs. Indeed, these mechanisms can be deregulated and then participate in the appearance, development and maintenance of various human diseases, including cancers, neurological and metabolic disorders. Some of the key players in epigenetics are metalloenzymes, belonging mostly to the group of erasers: the zinc-dependent histone deacetylases (HDACs), the iron-dependent lysine demethylases of the ...
Source: Current Medicinal Chemistry - Category: Chemistry Authors: Tags: Curr Med Chem Source Type: research