Beyond the Usual Suspects: Examining the Role of Understudied Histone Variants in Breast Cancer

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2024-06, Vol.25 (12), p.6788
• Main Authors: Dhahri, Hejer, Saintilnord, Wesley N, Chandler, Darrell, Fondufe-Mittendorf, Yvonne N
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino acids; Blood proteins; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - genetics; Breast Neoplasms - metabolism; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Cell division; Chromatin; Chromatin - genetics; Chromatin - metabolism; Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; chromatin structure; Chromosomes; Development and progression; DNA binding proteins; DNA damage; DNA methylation; Epigenetics; Female; Gene expression; gene regulation; Genetic transcription; Genomes; histone variants; Histones - genetics; Histones - metabolism; Humans; Kinases; Multigene Family; Mutation; nucleosome stability; Nucleosomes - metabolism; onco-histones; Phosphorylation; Proteins; Review
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms25126788

The incorporation of histone variants has structural ramifications on nucleosome dynamics and stability. Due to their unique sequences, histone variants can alter histone-histone or histone-DNA interactions, impacting the folding of DNA around the histone octamer and the overall higher-order structure of chromatin fibers. These structural modifications alter chromatin compaction and accessibility of DNA by transcription factors and other regulatory proteins to influence gene regulatory processes such as DNA damage and repair, as well as transcriptional activation or repression. Histone variants can also generate a unique interactome composed of histone chaperones and chromatin remodeling complexes. Any of these perturbations can contribute to cellular plasticity and the progression of human diseases. Here, we focus on a frequently overlooked group of histone variants lying within the four human histone gene clusters and their contribution to breast cancer.