Epigenetic regulation of histone H3 lysine 9 methylation in leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the role of epigenetic modifications in tumorigenesis drawn more and more attention. The aberrant changes of histone modifications have been found in leukemias, whereby loss of balance in H3K9 methylation is associated closely with leukemogenesis. SUV39H1, the first described histone H3 lysine 9 methyltransferase takes part in heterochromatin formation and gene transcription regulation. It could be a new target for leukemia therapy by correcting the aberrance of H3K9 methylation, inducing the reexpression of tumor suppressor genes. This review discusses how H3K9 methylation regulating gene transcription, silencing gene expression and its association with leukemia.