SET蛋白家族分类、功能及其在血液系统中研究进展

SET蛋白家族包含保守的SET结构域,很多家族成员可以利用S-腺苷甲硫氨酸对底物进行甲基化修饰.SET蛋白家族主要对组蛋白进行甲基化修饰,包括组蛋白H3K4、K9、K27、K36以及组蛋白H4K20,调控真核生物中基因的激活和沉默.除组蛋白外,部分SET蛋白家族成员对各种非组蛋白也具有催化酶活性.SET蛋白突变所导致的...     

组蛋白甲基转移酶的研究进展

组蛋白的甲基化修饰主要是由一类含有SET结构域的蛋白来执行的, 组蛋白甲基化修饰参与异染色质形成、基因印记、X染色体失活和转录调控等多种主要生理功能, 组蛋白的修饰作用是表观遗传学研究的一个重要领域。组蛋白甲基化的异常与肿瘤发生等多种人类疾病相关, 可以特异性地激活或者抑制基因的转录活性。研究发现, 组蛋白甲基转移酶的作用对象不仅仅限于组蛋白, 某些非组蛋白也可以被组蛋白甲基转移酶甲基化, 这将为探明细胞内部基因转录、信号转导、甚至个体的发育和分化机制提供更广阔的空间。     

植物组蛋白去乙酰化酶的特性及功能

真核生物染色质修饰是基因表达调控中的一个重要部分,组蛋白乙酰化修饰是基因转录调控的关键机制,与基因表达的活跃与沉默密切相关。组蛋白乙酰化修饰已成为表观遗传学的重要组成部分,受到研究者的普遍重视。本文从植物组蛋白去乙酰化酶(histone deacetylase,HDACs)的分类开始,综述植物中HDACs家族成员的结构特点、组织表达的多样性与复杂性,重点阐述其对发育的调控、逆境胁迫的响应。对了解基因的调控机制,丰富表观遗传学内容,并最终应用于植物育种及农业生产具有重要意义。     

组蛋白甲基转移酶SMYD家族与肿瘤

组蛋白甲基化修饰是肿瘤表观遗传学修饰异常的研究热点。这种修饰涉及肿瘤细胞的生物学行为,并参与肿瘤发生、发展和病理转归。含有SET结构域和MYND结构域蛋白的SMYD家族,是一组重要的赖氨酸甲基转移酶,主要通过组蛋白或非组蛋白甲基化修饰,调控其下游靶基因和肿瘤关键信号通路,参与肿瘤发生和发展的整个过程。SMYD家族影响肿瘤细胞的增殖、分化、凋亡、血管形成、侵袭和转移以及化疗敏感性等生物学特性。SMYD家族成员作为肿瘤新型分子诊断标志物和治疗靶点,有着巨大的临床应用价值和意义。本文综述了SMYD家族在肿瘤中的转录调控机制、生物学功能、临床研究意义及其作为分子靶点的抗肿瘤新药研究。     

组蛋白精氨酸甲基化修饰对基因转录的调控

总结了组蛋白精氨酸甲基化修饰体系的最新研究进展．组蛋白精氨酸甲基化修饰在基因转录调控中发挥着十分重要的作用,这类修饰由蛋白精氨酸甲基转移酶（PRMTs）介导,其中PRMT1和PRMT4的甲基化修饰与基因的转录激活作用相关,PRMT5和PRMT6的甲基化修饰则与基因的转录抑制作用相关．组蛋白精氨酸的甲基化是一个动态的可逆过程,催化组蛋白精氨酸的去甲基化是由“精氨酸去甲基化酶”介导的．     

植物组蛋白赖氨酸化修饰参与基因表达调控的机理

组蛋白共价修饰作为表观遗传修饰的重要部分,主要包括乙酰化和甲酰化、甲基化、磷酸化、泛素化和SUMO化等,它们形成一个复杂的网络共同调控基因的表达,其中组蛋白甲基化修饰成为研究的热点,甲基化主要发生在赖氨酸残基上。近年来,随着有关植物组蛋白赖氨酸甲基化修饰研究的不断深入,发现其通过改变自身赖氨酸残基的甲基化状态和甲基化程度,形成转录激活或者转录抑制标记,调控基因的表达,在植物开花和逆境胁迫的响应过程中起着至关重要的作用。H3组蛋白的赖氨酸甲基化修饰能够调控FLC基因和有关抗性基因的表达,具体表现为:H3K4的三甲基化促进FLC的表达,H3K27的三甲基化则抑制FLC的表达;H3K4me3作为转录激活标记,可激活PtdIns5P基因的表达,启动响应干旱的脂质合成信号通路,响应干旱胁迫;相反,H3K27me3作为一种转录抑制标记,低水平的H3K27me3诱导COR15A和ATGOLS3基因表达,它们分别编码叶绿体低温保护蛋白Cor15am和肌醇半乳糖合成酶GOLS,以抵抗寒冷胁迫。文章主要综述了植物组蛋白赖氨酸甲基化修饰参与DNA甲基化、开花过程以及应答逆境胁迫的分子机制。     

组蛋白乙酰化／去乙酰化作用与真核基因转录调控

核小体组蛋白的翻译后修饰是真核基因转录调控中的关键步骤。对于组蛋白的这类修饰方式 ,近年来研究最为活跃的是组蛋白Ｎ末端区域保守的Ｌｙｓ上ε ＮＨ 3 的乙酰化作用。随着各种组蛋白乙酰化酶 /去乙酰化酶被克隆、鉴定 ,组蛋白乙酰化 /去乙酰化作用与真核基因转录调控之间的关系也开始逐步得以阐明。1 .真核转录相关的组蛋白乙酰化酶和组蛋白去乙酰化酶1 .1　组蛋白乙酰化酶 (ｈｉｓｔｏｎｅａｃｅｔｙｌｔｒａｎｓ ｆｅｒａｓｅ ,ＨＡＴ)　　核小体组蛋白中Ｎ末端区域上保守的Ｌｙｓ的乙酰化是染色质具有转录活性的标志之一。在组蛋白…     

组蛋白甲基化修饰效应分子的研究进展

作为一种重要的表观遗传学调控机制,组蛋白甲基化修饰在多种生命过程中发挥了重要的作用。细胞内有多种组蛋白甲基化酶和去甲基化酶共同调节组蛋白的修饰状态,在组蛋白甲基化状态确定后,多种效应分子特异的读取修饰信息,从而参与基因转录调控过程。文章从组蛋白甲基化效应分子的作用机制方面综述了这一领域的研究进展。     

通过系统分析揭示组蛋白修饰模式与转录因子结合之间的关联

转录因子对顺势调控元件的选择性结合,在哺乳动物细胞类型特异的基因表达中扮演重要的角色.这个过程受到染色质表观遗传状态的潜在调控.近期,染色质免疫共沉淀结合测序的研究提供了大量泛基因组水平的数据,阐述转录因子结合以及组蛋白修饰的位点,这为系统地研究转录因子和表观遗传标记之间的空间及调控关系提供了基础.该研究对公共数据库中的染色质免疫共沉淀结合测序数据进行整合分析,涉及5个细胞系中的85种转录因子、9种组蛋白修饰,目的是研究转录因子结合位点与组蛋白修饰模式以及基因表达在泛基因组水平上的关联.作者发现,不同转录因子与组蛋白修饰的共定位模式高度一致,并且组蛋白修饰在距离转录因子结合位点约500碱基对的位置富集.作者还发现,转录因子结合位点的占有率与活性组蛋白修饰的水平和双峰模式正相关,并且启动子区域组蛋白修饰的双峰和共定位模式和基因的高转录水平相一致.组蛋白修饰模式、转录因子结合位点的占有率与基因转录之间的关联暗示了细胞可能利用的基因表达调控机制.     

SUMO在转录中的抑制作用

许多调控基因转录的重要蛋白质能被SUMO (small ubiquitin-related modifier)化修饰,这些蛋白质包括转录因子,转录辅助因子和染色质修饰酶.SUMO化修饰对底物蛋白的活性产生影响,在大多数情况下,与转录活性的抑制有关.最近,对SUMO化调控转录的机制有了新的认识,认为SUMO化的一个重要作用是促进转录因子与转录抑制因子之间的相互作用.另一方面,已经发现转录共抑制因子HDAC (组蛋白去乙酰化酶)可以作为SUMO化的底物、效应因子和调控因子,说明乙酰化和SUMO化之间复杂的相互作用对基因转录调控起着非常重要的作用.     

SET domain proteins in plant development

Post-translational methylation of lysine residues on histone tails is an epigenetic modification crucial for regulation of chromatin structure and gene expression in eukaryotes. The majority of the histone lysine methyltransferases (HKMTases) conferring such modifications are proteins with a conserved SET domain responsible for the enzymatic activity. The SET domain proteins in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana can be assigned to evolutionarily conserved classes with different specificities allowing for different outcomes on chromatin structure. Here we review the present knowledge of the biochemical and biological functions of plant SET domain proteins in developmental processes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Epigenetic control of cellular and developmental processes in plants.     

Complex evolutionary history and diverse domain organization of SET proteins suggest divergent regulatory interactions

? Plants and animals possess very different developmental processes, yet share conserved epigenetic regulatory mechanisms, such as histone modifications. One of the most important forms of histone modification is methylation on lysine residues of the tails, carried out by members of the SET protein family, which are widespread in eukaryotes. ? We analyzed molecular evolution by comparative genomics and phylogenetics of the SET genes from plant and animal genomes, grouping SET genes into several subfamilies and uncovering numerous gene duplications, particularly in the Suv, Ash, Trx and E(z) subfamilies. ? Domain organizations differ between different subfamilies and between plant and animal SET proteins in some subfamilies, and support the grouping of SET genes into seven main subfamilies, suggesting that SET proteins have acquired distinctive regulatory interactions during evolution. We detected evidence for independent evolution of domain organization in different lineages, including recruitment of new domains following some duplications. ? More recent duplications in both vertebrates and land plants are probably the result of whole-genome or segmental duplications. The evolution of the SET gene family shows that gene duplications caused by segmental duplications and other mechanisms have probably contributed to the complexity of epigenetic regulation, providing insights into the evolution of the regulation of chromatin structure.     

DOT1—— 一类新的组蛋白赖氨酸甲基转移酶

组蛋白甲基化是一种重要的组蛋白共价修饰, 在染色质结构和基因表达的调控过程中起着重要的、多样化的作用。DOT1催化核心球体部位的组蛋白H3第79位赖氨酸(H3K79)使其发生甲基化, 是首个被发现的无SET结构域的组蛋白赖氨酸甲基转移酶, 代表了一类新的组蛋白赖氨酸甲基转移酶。DOT1及H3K79甲基化的特点决定了其可能具有重要的、特殊的生物学功能。文章重点综述了DOT1蛋白的结构及特点, DOT1及H3K79甲基化的生物学功能以及组蛋白泛素化修饰对H3K79甲基化的反式调控。     

Comparative analysis of SET domain proteins in maize and Arabidopsis reveals multiple duplications preceding the divergence of monocots and dicots

Histone proteins play a central role in chromatin packaging, and modification of histones is associated with chromatin accessibility. SET domain [Su(var)3-9, Enhancer-of-zeste, Trithorax] proteins are one class of proteins that have been implicated in regulating gene expression through histone methylation. The relationships of 22 SET domain proteins from maize (Zea mays) and 32 SET domain proteins from Arabidopsis were evaluated by phylogenetic analysis and domain organization. Our analysis reveals five classes of SET domain proteins in plants that can be further divided into 19 orthology groups. In some cases, such as the Enhancer of zeste-like and trithorax-like proteins, plants and animals contain homologous proteins with a similar organization of domains outside of the SET domain. However, a majority of plant SET domain proteins do not have an animal homolog with similar domain organization, suggesting that plants have unique mechanisms to establish and maintain chromatin states. Although the domains present in plant and animal SET domain proteins often differ, the domains found in the plant proteins have been generally implicated in protein-protein interactions, indicating that most SET domain proteins operate in complexes. Combined analysis of the maize and Arabidopsis SET domain proteins reveals that duplication of SET domain proteins in plants is extensive and has occurred via multiple mechanisms that preceded the divergence of monocots and dicots.     

The Arabidopsis SUVR4 protein is a nucleolar histone methyltransferase with preference for monomethylated H3K9

Proteins containing the evolutionarily conserved SET domain are involved in regulation of eukaryotic gene expression and chromatin structure through their histone lysine methyltransferase (HMTase) activity. The Drosophila SU(VAR)3-9 protein and related proteins of other organisms have been associated with gene repression and heterochromatinization. In Arabidopsis there are 10 SUVH and 5 SUVR genes encoding proteins similar to SU(VAR)3-9, and 4 SUVH proteins have been shown to control heterochromatic silencing by its HMTase activity and by directing DNA methylation. The SUVR proteins differ from the SUVH proteins in their domain structure, and we show that the closely related SUVR1, SUVR2 and SUVR4 proteins contain a novel domain at their N-terminus, and a SUVR specific region preceding the SET domain. Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-fusions of these SUVR proteins preferably localize to the nucleolus, suggesting involvement in regulation of rRNA expression, in contrast to other SET-domain proteins studied so far. A novel HMTase specificity was demonstrated for SUVR4, in that monomethylated histone H3K9 is its preferred substrate in vitro.     

The function of histone lysine methylation related SET domain group proteins in plants

Histone methylation, which is mediated by the histone lysine (K) methyltransferases (HKMTases), is a mechanism associated with many pathways in eukaryotes. Most HKMTases have a conserved SET (Su(var) 3‐9,E(z),Trithorax) domain, while the HKMTases with SET domains are called the SET domain group (SDG) proteins. In plants, only SDG proteins can work as HKMTases. In this review, we introduced the classification of SDG family proteins in plants and the structural characteristics of each subfamily, surmise the functions of SDG family members in plant growth and development processes, including pollen and female gametophyte development, flowering, plant morphology and the responses to stresses. This review will help researchers better understand the SDG proteins and histone methylation in plants and lay a basic foundation for further studies on SDG proteins.     

Genome-wide survey and developmental expression mapping of zebrafish SET domain-containing genes

SET domain-containing proteins represent an evolutionarily conserved family of epigenetic regulators, which are responsible for most histone lysine methylation. Since some of these genes have been revealed to be essential for embryonic development, we propose that the zebrafish, a vertebrate model organism possessing many advantages for developmental studies, can be utilized to study the biological functions of these genes and the related epigenetic mechanisms during early development. To this end, we have performed a genome-wide survey of zebrafish SET domain genes. 58 genes total have been identified. Although gene duplication events give rise to several lineage-specific paralogs, clear reciprocal orthologous relationship reveals high conservation between zebrafish and human SET domain genes. These data were further subject to an evolutionary analysis ranging from yeast to human, leading to the identification of putative clusters of orthologous groups (COGs) of this gene family. By means of whole-mount mRNA in situ hybridization strategy, we have also carried out a developmental expression mapping of these genes. A group of maternal SET domain genes, which are implicated in the programming of histone modification states in early development, have been identified and predicted to be responsible for all known sites of SET domain-mediated histone methylation. Furthermore, some genes show specific expression patterns in certain tissues at certain stages, suggesting the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms in the development of these systems. These results provide a global view of zebrafish SET domain histone methyltransferases in evolutionary and developmental dimensions and pave the way for using zebrafish to systematically study the roles of these genes during development.