Abstract
Since their discovery in 2004, histone demethylases have emerged as key regulators of chromatin. Recent studies have started to reveal the interconnections between histone demethylases and signaling pathways, suggesting that this interplay drives fundamental biological processes. Here, we summarize the different families and subfamilies of histone demethylases and the insights into the biological roles of these enzymes that have been provided by the analysis of mutant animals. We then review recent work linking demethylases and signaling pathways. These studies suggest that demethylase activities are a component of the critical connections that enable environmental signals to modulate the epigenetic landscape of a cell. A greater mechanistic understanding of the network of signals that control chromatin states during normal cellular processes, together with a better understanding of the ways that epigenetic alterations lead to uncontrolled cell proliferation, might help in the design of effective tools for cancer therapy.
About the authors
Luisa Di Stefano received her PhD in Life Science in 2004 at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan (Italy), where she identified and characterized novel members of the E2F family of transcription factors. As part of her postdoctoral work at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston (USA), she studied the role of the histone demethylase dLsd1 in Drosophila. She is currently a group leader at the LBCMCP, Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse (France). Her research focuses on the identification of novel dLsd1 partners important for development and tumorigenesis.
Nicholas J. Dyson, PhD, has been a faculty member at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School (Boston, USA) for over 20 years. His research focuses on the RB tumor suppressor and related proteins. His accomplishments include the discovery that pRB is targeted by human papillomavirus E7 proteins, the finding that pRB and p107/p130 are required for the regulation of different sets of E2F-target genes, and the identification and analysis of Drosophila E2F, DP and RB family members. Dr. Dyson is currently the Scientific Director of the MGH Cancer Center.
©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
