Role of histone acetylation in cell cycle regulation

Core histone acetylation is a key prerequisite for chromatin decondensation and plays a pivotal role in regulation of chromatin structure, function and dynamics. The addition of acetyl groups disturbs histone/DNA interactions in the nucleosome and alters histone/histone interactions in the same or adjacent nucleosomes. Acetyl groups can also provide binding sites for recruitment of bromodomain (BRD)-containing non-histone readers and regulatory complexes to chromatin allowing them to perform distinct downstream functions. The presence of a particular acetylation pattern influences appearance of other histone modifications in the immediate vicinity forming the “histone code”. Although the roles of the acetylation of particular lysine residues for the ongoing chromatin functions is largely studied, the epigenetic inheritance of histone acetylation is a debated issue. The dynamics of local or global histone acetylation is associated with fundamental cellular processes such as gene transcription, DNA replication, DNA repair or chromatin condensation. Therefore, it is an essential part of the epigenetic cell response to processes related to internal and external signals.