Interfering with histone demethylases in HSCs.

摘要

Stem cells are governed by epigenetic mechanisms that can either help maintain the necessary gene expression programs to preserve the stem cell state or ensure the establishment of new cell-specific expression programs during differentiation. One important level of epigenetic control originates from histone modifications such as methylation or acetylation. These modifications can be associated with either gene activation or gene repression. Histone methylation was originally believed to be a relatively permanent modification but the discovery of enzymes that can demethylate histones, about a decade ago, changed this perception entirely. It is now evident that histone methylation is both highly dynamic and reversible.