Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jason H. Brickner
Summary: This article discusses the mechanisms by which histone modifications can be inherited and relates them to the phenomenon of epigenetic transcriptional memory. Recent studies have found that the histone H3 lysine 4 dimethylation associated with this memory plays a critical role in sustaining memory and can be stably maintained through multiple mitoses. This chromatin-mediated inheritance mechanism involves a physical interaction between an H3K4me2 reader, SET3C, and an H3K4me2 writer, Spp1(-) COMPASS. This is the first example of chromatin-mediated inheritance of a mark that promotes transcription.
ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Adrienne K. Scott, Michael Rafuse, Corey P. Neu
Summary: The adaptability of a cell, known as phenotypic plasticity, determines its ability to survive and function in changing cellular environments. Mechanical changes, such as stiffness of the extracellular matrix and physical stress, play a crucial role in influencing phenotypic plasticity and stability. Moreover, exposure to prior mechanical signals has been found to modulate phenotypic changes and create stable mechanical memories. This review focuses on how the mechanical environment affects phenotypic plasticity and memory through changes in chromatin architecture, particularly in cardiac tissue.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Plant Sciences
Sneha Lata Bhadouriya, Sandhya Mehrotra, Mahesh K. Basantani, Gary J. Loake, Rajesh Mehrotra
Summary: Chromatin structure plays a crucial role in perceiving and transmitting environmental signals, impacting gene expression. Processes like histone modification and DNA methylation are essential for genome reprogramming. Different chromatin remodelers act in various organisms under diverse stresses to transition chromatin from an inactive to an active state.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhaoxu Gao, Yue Zhou, Yuehui He
Summary: This article summarizes the chromatin-based mechanisms of acquired thermotolerance and memory in plants, focusing on the adaptation and memory abilities of plants towards temperature stresses and winter cold. It also discusses the future research directions for temperature stress memory in economically-important crops.
JOURNAL OF GENETICS AND GENOMICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Evelyn Chen, Enrique Lin-Shiao, Marena Trinidad, Mohammad Saffari Doost, David Colognori, Jennifer A. Doudna
Summary: The fusion of PRDM9 and Cas9 in CRISPR-Cas genome editing can increase the efficiency of homology-directed repair (HDR) and avoid off-target editing.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Virology
Ishak D. Irwan, Bryan R. Cullen
Summary: The study reveals that HTLV-1 Tax protein can rescue the replication of IN-HIV-1 in T cells by activating the LTR promoter on HIV-1 DNA. Recruitment of NF-kappa B to unintegrated viral DNA is a prerequisite for Tax-induced changes in epigenetic marks, and induction of Tax expression can reverse the epigenetic silencing of unintegrated HIV 1 DNA. Introducing heterologous promoters into IN-deficient HIV-1-based vectors can maintain transcriptional activity even in the absence of Tax.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2021)
Review
Plant Sciences
Muthusamy Ramakrishnan, Zhijun Zhang, Sileesh Mullasseri, Ruslan Kalendar, Zishan Ahmad, Anket Sharma, Guohua Liu, Mingbing Zhou, Qiang Wei
Summary: Understanding the stress memory of plants under extreme temperatures can contribute to plant development. Plants use different types of stress memories regulated by epigenetic changes, playing a key role in gene regulation from early development to maturity. Some of the modifications can be passed on to offspring, while others are reactivated during reproduction. However, the mechanisms of stress memory inheritance and the integrated view of regulatory mechanisms in plants are still lacking.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biology
Bethany Sump, Donna G. Brickner, Agustina D'Urso, Seo Hyun Kim, Jason H. Brickner
Summary: The rate and mechanism of transcriptional activation for certain genes depend on the cell's prior experiences, known as epigenetic transcriptional memory. In yeast, memory of inositol starvation involves interactions between transcription factors and the nuclear pore complex, as well as changes in chromatin structure. This memory process accelerates reactivation.
Article
Developmental Biology
Howard Cedar, Ofra Sabag, Yitzhak Reizel
Summary: DNA methylation plays a crucial role in gene regulation during development. The establishment of methylation patterns in the early embryo maintains a genome-wide network of gene regulatory elements by organizing an inaccessible chromatin structure. Programmed demethylation in each cell type allows for the maintenance of select elements in an open structure, enabling interaction with a wide range of transcription factors to regulate cell identity defining gene expression profiles.
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Luis M. Schang, MiYao Hu, Esteban Flores Cortes, Kairui Sun
Summary: The ability of HSV-1 to establish, maintain and reactivate latent infections is regulated by epigenetics, which play a major role in these processes. The viral chromatin has distinct biophysical properties and is enriched in post translational modifications or histone variants that differ from cellular chromatin. Small molecule epigenetic modulators have shown to inhibit viral replication and reactivation from latency, suggesting potential for antiviral therapy.
ANTIVIRAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Chloe D. Goldsmith, Thomasina Donovan, Nicole Vlahovich, David B. Pyne
Summary: This perspective article discusses how exercise can delay T cell ageing by analyzing the relationship between metabolism and epigenetics, proposing a potential impact of exercise on CD4+ T cell plasticity.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Andrew R. Leitch, Lu Ma, Steven Dodsworth, Joerg Fuchs, Andreas Houben, Ilia J. Leitch
Summary: Angiosperm genomes consist of genes and their regulatory regions, repeats, semi-degraded repeats, and "dark matter". This study compares the histone modifications associated with chromatin packaging of these different genomic components in two species with significantly different genome sizes. The results reveal distinct associations between certain histone marks and different genomic features, providing insights into epigenetic profiles and chromatin organization.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Renata Brito Falcao-Holanda, Brunialti Milena Karina Colo, Miriam Galvonas Jasiulionis, Reinaldo Salomao
Summary: Sepsis is characterized by an initial hyperinflammatory response, followed by a compensatory anti-inflammatory response which can lead to immunosuppression. Epigenetic changes play a central role in the pathogenesis of sepsis, affecting host cells' response to infection and orchestrating the inflammatory response. Epigenetic interventions have the potential to be used in the treatment of sepsis.
FRONTIERS IN MEDICINE
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Ivan Dikic, Brenda A. Schulman
Summary: Recent studies have advanced our understanding of ubiquitylation, revealing unconventional ubiquitylation mechanisms used by pathogens to promote infection. Structural studies have shown that ubiquitin functions involve complex multivalent interactions that regulate transcription or protein degradation. Furthermore, these interactions can induce conformational changes and regulate protein degradation or transcription. These newly discovered mechanisms provide potential opportunities for innovative therapeutic interventions for diseases such as cancer and infectious diseases.
NATURE REVIEWS MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Britt Mossink, Moritz Negwer, Dirk Schubert, Nael Nadif Kasri
Summary: This review discusses the important role of chromatin remodelers in neurodevelopment, indicating that gene mutations in NDDs are related to epigenetics, which is an important pathogenic pathway between these disorders. Over time, chromatin remodeling defects can result in impaired brain circuit establishment, especially in glutamatergic neurons, GABAergic neurons, and glia cells.
CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR LIFE SCIENCES
(2021)