Role of Histone-Modifying Enzymes and Their Complexes in Regulation of Chromatin Biology

In 1964, Alfrey and colleagues proposed that acetylation and methylation of histones may regulate RNA. synthesis and described "the possibility that relatively minor modifications of histone structure, taking place on the intact protein molecule, offer a means of switching-on or off RNA synthesis at different loci along the chromosome" [AllFrey, V., Faulkner, R., and Mirsky, A. (1964) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 51, 786]. Fifty years later, this prescient description provides a simple but conceptually accurate model for the biological role of histone post-translational modifications (PTMs). The basic unit of chromosomes is the nucleosome, with double-stranded DNA wrapped around a histone protein oligomer. The "tails" of histone proteins are post-translationally modified, which alters the physical properties of nucleosomes in a manner that impacts gene accessibility for transcription and replication. Enzymes that catalyze the addition and removal of histone PTMs, histone-modifying enzymes (HMEs), are present in large protein complexes, with DNA-binding proteins, ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling enzymes, and epigenetic reader proteins that bind to post-translationally modified histone residues [Arrowsmith, C. H., Bountra, C., Fish, P. V., Lee, K., and Schapira, M. (2012) Nat. Rev. Drug Discovery 11, 384-400]. The activity of HME complexes is coordinated with that of other chromatin-associated complexes that, together, regulate gene transcription, DNA repair, and DNA replication. In this context, the enzymes that catalyze addition and removal of histone PTMs are an essential component of the highly regulated mechanism for accessing compacted DNA. To fully understand the function of HMEs, the structure of nucleosomes, their natural substrate, will be described. Each major class of HMEs subsequently will be discussed with regard to its biochemistry, enzymatic mechanism, and biological function in the context of a prototypical HME complex.