Title:An Overview of Chromatin-Regulating Proteins in Cells
Volume: 17
Issue: 5
Author(s): Pingyu Zhang, Keila Torres, Xiuping Liu, Chang-gong Liu and Raphael E. Pollock
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Chromosome, histone, histone modification, chromatin-regulating protein, gene transcription, DNA replication,
DNA repair, DNA recombination.
Abstract: In eukaryotic cells, gene expressions on chromosome DNA are orchestrated by a dynamic
chromosome structure state that is largely controlled by chromatin-regulating proteins, which regulate
chromatin structures, release DNA from the nucleosome, and activate or suppress gene expression by
modifying nucleosome histones or mobilizing DNA-histone structure. The two classes of chromatinregulating
proteins are 1) enzymes that modify histones through methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, adenosine
diphosphate–ribosylation, glycosylation, sumoylation, or ubiquitylation and 2) enzymes that remodel DNA-histone structure
with energy from ATP hydrolysis. Chromatin-regulating proteins, which modulate DNA-histone interaction, change
chromatin conformation, and increase or decrease the binding of functional DNA-regulating protein complexes, have major
functions in nuclear processes, including gene transcription and DNA replication, repair, and recombination. This review
provides a general overview of chromatin-regulating proteins, including their classification, molecular functions, and
interactions with the nucleosome in eukaryotic cells.
