组蛋白甲基转移酶G9a在表观遗传调控中的作用

The role of histone methyltransferase G9a in epigenetic regulation

组蛋白赖氨酸甲基化在表观遗传调控中起着关键作用。组蛋白甲基转移酶G9a(又称作常染色质组蛋白赖氨酸N-甲基转移酶2(euchromatic histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 2,EHMT2))含经典的SET结构域,是常染色质主要的甲基转移酶之一,可以甲基化组蛋白H3K9、H3K27和H1bK26等。此外,G9a也可以直接甲基化一些非组蛋白,并与DNA甲基化密切相关。G9a功能紊乱可以导致胚胎发育异常、免疫系统及神经系统发育障碍、甚至癌症的发生发展。

Histone lysine methylation plays a key role in epigenetic regulation. G9a, containing the classic SET domain, is one of the major euchromatic methyltransferases that methylates histone H3 （K9 and K27） and histone Hlb （K26）. Some non-histone targets can also be methylated by G9a. G9a is also closely involved in DNA methylation. Thus, G9a plays important roles in embryonic development, immunological and neural disorders, and tumorigenesis and tumor progression.