Certain and progressive methylation of histone H4 at lysine 20 during the cell cycle

Molecular and Cellular Biology, 2008 Jan;28(1):468-86. Epub 2007 Oct 29

Methylation of histone H4 at lysine 20 (K20) has been implicated in transcriptional activation, gene silencing, heterochromatin formation, mitosis, and DNA repair. However, little is known about how this modification is regulated or how it contributes to these diverse processes. Metabolic labeling and top-down mass spectrometry reveal that newly synthesized H4 is progressively methylated at K20 during the G(2), M, and G(1) phases of the cell cycle in a process that is largely inescapable and irreversible.

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Authors

Pesavento JJ, Yang H, Kelleher NL, Mizzen CA