Background |
The reversible lysine acetylation of histones and non-histone proteins plays a vital role in the regulation of many cellular processes including chromatin dynamics gene activities, cell cycle progression, apoptosis, differentiation, DNA replication, DNA repair, nuclear import, and neuronal repression. More than 20 acetyltransferases and 18 deacetylases have been identified so far, but the mechanistic details of substrate selection and site specificity of these enzymes remain unclear. The mis-regulated protein acetylation status has been implicated in cancers and other diseases, and HDACs have become likely targets for anti-cancer drugs. |