Background |
The methylation status of histone lysine residues is a major determinant of the formation of both activated and inactive regions of the genome, and plays a crucial role in the correct programming of the genome during development. Proteins containing the Jumonji C (JmjC) domain represent the largest category of potential histone demethylase proteins. The JmjC domain can be achieved through iron ions and α- The oxidation reaction of ketoglutaric acid catalyzes the demethylation of single, double, and trimethyllysine residues. Based on homology, both humans and mice contain at least 30 such proteins, which can be divided into 7 different families. The three members of the UTX/UTY family include the widely transcribed X chromosome 34 peptide repeat protein (UTX), the widely transcribed Y chromosome 34 peptide repeat protein (UTY), and the protein 3 containing the JmjC domain (JMJD3). This protein family can demethylate the histones H3 Lys 27 of both dimethyl and trimethyl histones. In women, the UTX gene can escape X chromosome inactivation and is widely expressed. During development, UTX can regulate HOX gene expression. JMJD3 regulates gene expression in macrophages under different inflammatory stimuli and is upregulated in prostate cancer. UTX and JMJD3 both interact with mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) complexes 2 and 3, which can methylate histone H3 at the Lys4 site. The UTY gene is expressed in most tissues of male mice. |