Title:Histone Methylation and Transcriptional Regulation in Cardiovascular Disease
Volume: 14
Issue: 2
Author(s): Yong Xu and Fei Fang
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Cardiovascular disease, epigenetics, histone methylation, transcriptional regulation.
Abstract: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) represents a major health risk to the global population. In disease settings, cells
that constitute the vasculature undergo profound changes both morphologically and functionally paralleling alterations in
gene expression profile. At the transcriptional level, gene expression is steered by the epigenetic machinery including
DNA methyltransferases, histone variants, non-coding regulatory RNAs, chromatin remodeling complexes, and histone
modifying enzymes. The N-terminal tails of histones, primarily histones H3 and H4, are post-translationally modified
creating a unique platform for transcriptional regulation. This review summarizes our current understanding of the role of
histone methylation in modulating the vascular transcriptome and its relevance in CVD with an outlook on future
directions.
