Chromatin remodeling

Chromatin remodeling is the dynamic modification of chromatin architecture to allow access of condensed genomic DNA to the regulatory transcription machinery proteins, and thereby control gene expression. Such remodeling is principally carried out by 1) covalent histone modifications by specific enzymes, e.g., histone acetyltransferases (HATs), deacetylases, methyltransferases, and kinases, and 2) ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes which either move, eject or restructure nucleosomes. Besides actively regulating gene expression, dynamic remodeling of chromatin imparts an epigenetic regulatory role in several key biological processes, egg cells DNA replication and repair; apoptosis; chromosome segregation as well as development and pluripotency. Aberrations in chromatin remodeling proteins are found to be associated with human diseases, including cancer. Targeting chromatin remodeling pathways is currently evolving as a major therapeutic strategy in the treatment of several cancers. Chromatin remodeling is the dynamic modification of chromatin architecture to allow access of condensed genomic DNA to the regulatory transcription machinery proteins, and thereby control gene expression. Such remodeling is principally carried out by 1) covalent histone modifications by specific enzymes, e.g., histone acetyltransferases (HATs), deacetylases, methyltransferases, and kinases, and 2) ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes which either move, eject or restructure nucleosomes. Besides actively regulating gene expression, dynamic remodeling of chromatin imparts an epigenetic regulatory role in several key biological processes, egg cells DNA replication and repair; apoptosis; chromosome segregation as well as development and pluripotency. Aberrations in chromatin remodeling proteins are found to be associated with human diseases, including cancer. Targeting chromatin remodeling pathways is currently evolving as a major therapeutic strategy in the treatment of several cancers. The transcriptional regulation of the genome is controlled primarily at the preinitiation stage by binding of the core transcriptional machinery proteins (namely, RNA polymerase, transcription factors, and activators and repressors) to the core promoter sequence on the coding region of the DNA. However, DNA is tightly packaged in the nucleus with the help of packaging proteins, chiefly histone proteins to form repeating units of nucleosomes which further bundle together to form condensed chromatin structure. Such condensed structure occludes many DNA regulatory regions, not allowing them to interact with transcriptional machinery proteins and regulate gene expression. To overcome this issue and allow dynamic access to condensed DNA, a process known as chromatin remodeling alters nucleosome architecture to expose or hide regions of DNA for transcriptional regulation. By definition, chromatin remodeling is the enzyme-assisted process to facilitate access of nucleosomal DNA by remodeling the structure, composition and positioning of nucleosomes.