• ALGAE
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.191-197
• /
• 2003

Histones are important proteins that interact with the DNA double helix to form nucleosome. Two putative histone genes, GjH2A-1 and GjH2A-2 were isolated from a red alga Griffithsia japonica. The putative open reading frame of GjH2A-1 and GjH2A-2 shared high similarity with the previously reported amino acid sequences of histone H2As. They have a motif consisting of seven amino acids A-G-L-Q-F-P-V, which matches the histone H2A motif [AC]-G-L-x-F-P-V. Phylogenetic trees were constructed from amino acid sequences of 38 histone H2As. The histone H2As were divided into two groups: major H2As and H2A.F/Z variants. The major histone H2A group consisted of animals, fungi, plants + green algae, and red algae H2A subgroups. The animal histone H2A subgroup was divided into vertebrates, echinoderms, nematodes, insects, and segmented worms H2As. The putative red algal histone genes, GjH2A-1 and GjH2A-2, constituted an independent lineage. This is the first report on red algal histone genes.

• Molecules and Cells
• /
• v.43 no.10
• /
• pp.841-847
• /
• 2020

Histone acetylation and deacetylation play central roles in the regulation of chromatin structure and transcription by RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II). Although Hda1 histone deacetylase complex (Hda1C) is known to selectively deacetylate histone H3 and H2B to repress transcription, previous studies have suggested its potential roles in histone H4 deacetylation. Recently, we have shown that Hda1C has two distinct functions in histone deacetylation and transcription. Histone H4-specific deacetylation at highly transcribed genes negatively regulates RNA Pol II elongation and H3 deacetylation at inactive genes fine-tunes the kinetics of gene induction upon environmental changes. Here, we review the recent understandings of transcriptional regulation via histone deacetylation by Hda1C. In addition, we discuss the potential mechanisms for histone substrate switching by Hda1C, depending on transcriptional frequency and activity.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.227-231
• /
• 2009

The eukaryotic genome forms a chromatin structure that contains repeating nucleosome structures. Nucleosome packaging is regulated by chromatin remodeling factors such as histone chaperones. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae H3/H4 histone chaperones, CAF-1 and Asf1, regulate DNA replication and chromatin assembly. CAF-1 function is largely restricted to non-transcriptional processes in heterochromatin, whereas Asf1 regulates transcription together with another H3/H4 chaperone, HIR. This study examined the role of the yeast H3/H4 histone chaperones, Asf1, HIR, and CAF-1 in chromatin dynamics during transcription. Unexpectedly, CAF-1 was recruited to the actively transcribed region in a similar way to HIR and Asf1. In addition, the three histone chaperones genetically interacted with Set2-dependent H3 K36 methylation. Similar to histone chaperones, Set2 was required for tolerance to excess histone H3 but not to excess H2A, suggesting that CAF-1, Asf1, HIR, and Set2 function in a related pathway and target chromatin during transcription.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.17 no.4 s.84
• /
• pp.593-598
• /
• 2007

Amino acids of histone tail are covalently modified in eukaryotic cells. Lysine residues in histone H3 and H4 are methylated at three levels; mono-, di- or trimethylation. Methylation in histones is related with transcription of the genes in distinct pattern depending on lysine residues and methylated levels. Relation between transcription and methylation has been relatively well understood at three lysines H3K4, H3K9 and H3K36. H3K4 is methylated in active or potentially active chromatin and its methylation associates with active transcription. H3K9 is generally methylated in heterochromatin or repressed gene, but trimethylation of this lysine occur in actively transcribed genes also. Methylation at H3K36 generally correlates with active chromatin/transcription, but the correlation of its dimethylation with transcription is controversial. All together methylation patterns of individual lysine residues in histone relate with activation or repression of transcription and may provide distinctive roles in transcriptional regulation of the eukaryotic genes.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.145-152
• /
• 2012

Chromatin structure and dynamics that are influenced by epigenetic marks, such as histone modification and DNA methylation, play a crucial role in modulating gene transcription. To understand the relationship between histone modifications and regulatory elements in breast cancer cells, we compared our chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-Seq) histone modification patterns for histone H3K4me1, H3K4me3, H3K9/16ac, and H3K27me3 in MCF-7 cells with publicly available formaldehyde-assisted isolation of regulatory elements (FAIRE)-chip signals in human chromosomes 8, 11, and 12, identified by a method called FAIRE. Active regulatory elements defined by FAIRE were highly associated with active histone modifications, like H3K4me3 and H3K9/16ac, especially near transcription start sites. The H3K9/16ac-enriched genes that overlapped with FAIRE signals (FAIRE-H3K9/14ac) were moderately correlated with gene expression levels. We also identified functional sequence motifs at H3K4me1-enriched FAIRE sites upstream of putative promoters, suggesting that regulatory elements could be associated with H3K4me1 to be regarded as distal regulatory elements. Our results might provide an insight into epigenetic regulatory mechanisms explaining the association of histone modifications with open chromatin structure in breast cancer cells.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.50 no.11
• /
• pp.537-538
• /
• 2017

Hypoxia affects various physiological and pathophyological processes. Hypoxia changes the expression of hypoxia-responsive genes through two main pathways. First, hypoxia activates transcription factors (TF) such as Hypoxia-inducible Factor (HIF). Second, hypoxia decreases the activity of Jumonji C domain-containing histone demethylases (JMJDs) that require $O_2$ and ${\alpha}$-Ketoglutarate (${\alpha}$-KG) as substrates. The JMJDs affect gene expression through their regulation of active or repressive histone methylations. Profiling of H3K4me3, H3K9me3, and H3K27me3 under both normoxia and hypoxia identified 75 TFs whose binding motifs were significantly enriched in the methylated regions of the genes. TFs showing similar binding strengths to their target genes might be under the 'metabolic control' which changes histone methylation and gene expression by instant changing catalytic activities of resident histone demethylases.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.53 no.5
• /
• pp.266-271
• /
• 2020

Breast cancer encompasses a major portion of human cancers and must be carefully monitored for appropriate diagnoses and treatments. Among the many types of breast cancers, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has the worst prognosis and the least cases reported. To gain a better understanding and a more decisive precursor for TNBC, two major histone modifications, an activating modification H3K4me3 and a repressive modification H3K27me3, were analyzed using data from normal breast cell lines against TNBC cell lines. The combination of these two histone markers on the gene promoter regions showed a great correlation with gene expression. A list of signature genes was defined as active (highly enriched H3K4me3), including NOVA1, NAT8L, and MMP16, and repressive genes (highly enriched H3K27me3), IRX2 and ADRB2, according to the distribution of these histone modifications on the promoter regions. To further enhance the investigation, potential candidates were also compared with other types of breast cancer to identify signs specific to TNBC. RNA-seq data was implemented to confirm and verify gene regulation governed by the histone modifications. Combinations of the biomarkers based on H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 showed the diagnostic value AUC 93.28% with P-value of 1.16e-226. The results of this study suggest that histone modification analysis of opposing histone modifications may be valuable toward developing biomarkers and targets for TNBC.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.345-349
• /
• 1999

We fused the promoter region of an H3.2 chicken histone gene, whose expression is dependent on the cell cycle, to the 5' coding region of an H3.3 chicken histone gene, which is expressed constitutively at a low level throughout the cell cycle. This fusion gene showed a cell cycle-regulated pattern of expression, but in a different manner. The mRNA level of the fusion gene increase during the S phase of the cell cycle by about 3.7-fold at 6 h and 2.7-fold at 12 h after the serum stimulation. The mRNA level of the intact H3.2 gene, however, increased by an average of 3.6-fold at 6 h and 8.7-fold at 12 h. This different expression pattern might be due to the differences in their 3' end region that is responsible for mRNA stability. The 3' end of the H3.2 mRNA contains a stem-loop structure, instead of a poly(A) tail present in the H3.3 mRNA. We also constructed a similar fusion gene using a H3.3 histone gene whose introns had been eliminated to rule out the possibility of involvement of the introns in cell cycle-regulated expression. The expression of this fusion gene was almost identical to the fusion gene made previously. These results indicate that the promoter region of the H3.2 gene is only partially responsible for its expression during the S phase of the cell cycle.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.109-119
• /
• 2022

Histone proteins can be modified by the addition of acetyl group or methyl group to specific amino acids. The modifications have different distribution patterns in chromatin. Recently, histone modifications are studied based on ChIP-seq data, which requires reasonable analysis of sequencing data depending on their distribution patterns. Here we have analyzed histone H3K27ac and H3K27me3 ChIP-seq data and it showed that the H3K27ac is enriched at narrow regions while H3K27me3 distributes broadly. To properly analyze the ChIP-seq data, we called peaks for H3K27ac and H3K27me3 using MACS2 (narrow option and broad option) and SICER methods, and compared propriety of the peaks using signal-to-background ratio. As results, H3K27ac-enriched regions were well identified by both methods while H3K27me3 peaks were properly identified by SICER, which indicates that peak calling method is more critical for histone modifications distributed broadly. When ChIP-seq data were compared in different sequencing depth (15, 30, 60, 120 M), high sequencing depth caused high false-positive rate in H3K27ac peak calling, but it reflected more properly the broad distribution pattern of H3K27me3. These results suggest that sequencing depth affects peak calling from ChIP-seq data and high sequencing depth is required for H3K27me3. Taken together, peak calling tool and sequencing depth should be chosen depending on the distribution pattern of histone modification in ChIP-seq analysis.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.48 no.12
• /
• pp.685-690
• /
• 2015

The eukaryotic genome is packed into chromatin, which is important for the genomic integrity and gene regulation. Chromatin structures are maintained through assembly and disassembly of nucleosomes catalyzed by histone chaperones. Asf1 (anti-silencing function 1) is a highly conserved histone chaperone that mediates histone transfer on/off DNA and promotes histone H3 lysine 56 acetylation at globular core domain of histone H3. To elucidate the role of Asf1 in the modulation of chromatin structure, we screened and identified small molecules that inhibit Asf1 and H3K56 acetylation without affecting other histone modifications. These pyrimidine-2,4,6-trione derivative molecules inhibited the nucleosome assembly mediated by Asf1 in vitro, and reduced the H3K56 acetylation in HeLa cells. Furthermore, production of HSV viral particles was reduced by these compounds. As Asf1 is implicated in genome integrity, cell proliferation, and cancer, current Asf1 inhibitor molecules may offer an opportunity for the therapeutic development for treatment of diseases.