Chromatin can be modified via DNA methylation and/or histone marks, and these chemical modifications can affect transcription levels. However, evidence is mounting that specific modifications act not as simple positive or negative regulators, but rather in complex combinations whose effects depend upon context (reviewed in Berger, 2007). New work from Charron et al. (pages nnn) examines dynamic...

Aberrant methylation patterns of genomic DNA are well-studied epigenetic mutations in cancer. Hypermethylation of CpG islands in tumor-suppressor genes promotes oncogenesis and hypomethylation of global genomic DNA affects genomic stability. Cancer is recognized as a genetic and epigenetic disease. However, it is not clear how epigenetic regulatory factors, including histone modification enzyme...

It is widely accepted that transcriptional regulation of eukaryotic genes is intimately coupled to covalent modifications of the underlying chromatin template, and in certain cases the functional consequences of these modifications have been characterized. Here we present evidence that gene activation in the silent heterochromatin of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can occur in the context o...

Histone post-translational modification (PTM) antibodies are essential research reagents in chromatin biology. However, they suffer from variable properties and insufficient documentation of quality. Antibody manufacturers and vendors should provide detailed lot-specific documentation of quality, rendering further quality checks by end-customers unnecessary. A shift from polyclonal antibodies t...

Cancer has been traditionally regarded as a disease caused by genetic mutations. However, since the development of epigenetic and our better understanding of cancer itself, scientists now recognize the role of epigenetic factors in cancer. Cancer metastasis, the spread of cancer cell to secondary sites, is one of the most dangerous events in late cancer stages. With no exception, epigenetic fac...