Loss of acetylation at Lys16 and trimethylation at Lys20 of histone H4 is a common hallmark of human cancer

Citation

Fraga MF, Ballestar E, Villar-Garea A, Boix-Chornet M, Espada J, Schotta G, Bonaldi T, Haydon C, Ropero S, Petrie K, Iyer NG, Perez-Rosado A, Calvo E, Lopez JA & Cano A (2005) Loss of acetylation at Lys16 and trimethylation at Lys20 of histone H4 is a common hallmark of human cancer. Nature Genetics, 37 (4), pp. 391-400. https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1531

Abstract
First paragraph: Epigenetics has become an increasingly important aspect of cancer biology. From the first observation of global genomic hypomethylation in tumors1,2 to the identification of genes that are transcriptionally silenced in cancer cells by CpG island promoter hypermethylation3–6 and the translational use of DNA demethylating agents7, cancer epigenetics has focused mainly on aberrant DNA methylation. But changes in DNA methylation observed in transformed cells are not isolated events: they occur in the context of more complex epigenetic deregulation. DNA methylation is associated with the formation of nuclease-resistant chromatin8 , and DNA methyltransferases and methyl-CpG binding proteins are associated with histone deacetylases (HDACs) and histone methyltransferases9,10. This intimate relationship between DNA methylation and other components of the epigenetic layer, such as histones, is also expected to be disrupted in cancer cells

Notes
Additional co-authors: Maria J Calasanz, Dolors Colomer, Miguel Angel Piris, Natalie Ahn, Axel Imhof, Carlos Caldas, Thomas Jenuwein & Manel Esteller

Journal
Nature Genetics: Volume 37, Issue 4