MMSET, identified by its fusion to the IgH locus in t(4;14)-associated multiple myeloma, possesses domains found within chromatin regulators, including the SET domain. MMSET protein is overexpressed and highly associated with chromatin in myeloma cell lines carrying t(4;14). MMSET possesses methyltransferase activity for core histone H3 lysine 4 and histone 4 lysine 20, whereas MMSET made in ce...

Post-translational modifications of histones are significant regulators of replication, transcription, and DNA repair. Particularly, newly synthesized histone H4 in H3/H4 heterodimers becomes acetylated on N-terminal lysine residues prior to its incorporation into chromatin. Previous studies have established that the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) complex Hat1p/Hat2p medicates this modificatio...

A complex interplay between multiple chromatin modifiers is critical for cells to regulate chromatin structure and accessibility during essential DNA-templated processes such as transcription. However, the coordinated activities of these chromatin modifiers in the regulation of gene expression are not fully understood. We previously determined that the budding yeast histone H4 methyltransferase...

Histone proteins are subject to modifications, such as acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination, glycosylation, and ADP ribosylation, some of which are known to play important roles in the regulation of chromatin structure and function. Here we report that histone H4 is modified by small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) family proteins both in vivo and in vitro. H4 binds to th...

Upon pathogen perception plant innate immune receptors activate various signaling pathways that trigger host defenses. PAMP-triggered defense signaling requires mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways, which modulate the activity of transcription factors through phosphorylation. Here, we highlight that the same transcription factors are also targets for conjugation by SUMO (Small ubiqu...

Cancer is being reinterpreted in the light of recent discoveries related to the histone code and the dynamic nature of epigenetic regulation and control of gene programs during development, as well as insights gained from whole cancer genome sequencing. Somatic mutations in or deregulated expression of genes that encode chromatin-modifying enzymes are being identified with high frequency. Nowhe...

Although several powerful methods exist for the redesign of enzyme structure and function these are typically limited to the 20 most abundant proteinogenic amino acids. The use of chemical modification overcomes this limitation to allow virtually unlimited alteration of amino acid sidechain structures. If heterogeneous mixtures of enzyme products are to be avoided, however, the required chemist...