The role of macroh2a histone variants in cancer

The epigenome regulates gene expression and provides a molecular memory of cellular events. A growing body of evidence has highlighted the importance of epigenetic regulation in physiological tissue homeostasis and malignant transformation. Among epigenetic mechanisms, the replacement of replication...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Hsu, Chen-Jen, Meers, Oliver|||0000-0001-9532-7767, Buschbeck, Marcus|||0000-0002-3218-4567, Heidel, Florian H.|||0000-0003-2438-1955
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:270586
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/270586
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.3390/cancers13123003
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Macroh2a
Histone variants
Epigenetics
Chromatin
Cancer
Macrodomain
Tumor suppressor
Oncohistone
Malignant transformation
Descripción
Sumario:The epigenome regulates gene expression and provides a molecular memory of cellular events. A growing body of evidence has highlighted the importance of epigenetic regulation in physiological tissue homeostasis and malignant transformation. Among epigenetic mechanisms, the replacement of replication-coupled histones with histone variants is the least understood. Due to differences in protein sequence and genomic distribution, histone variants contribute to the plasticity of the epigenome. Here, we focus on the family of macroH2A histone variants that are partic-ular in having a tripartite structure consisting of a histone fold, an intrinsically disordered linker and a globular macrodomain. We discuss how these domains mediate different molecular functions related to chromatin architecture, transcription and DNA repair. Dysregulated expression of macroH2A histone variants has been observed in different subtypes of cancer and has variable prognostic impact, depending on cellular context and molecular background. We aim to provide a concise review regarding the context-and isoform-dependent contributions of macroH2A histone variants to cancer development and progression.