A Structural Perspective on Gene Repression by Polycomb Repressive Complex 2

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) is a major repressive chromatin complex formed by the Polycomb Group (PcG) proteins. PRC2 mediates trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3), a hallmark of gene silencing. PRC2 is a key regulator of development, impacting many fundamental biological processes, like stem cell differentiation in mammals and vernalization in plants. Misregulation of PRC2 function is linked to a variety of human cancers and developmental disorders. In correlation with its diverse roles in development, PRC2 displays a high degree of compositional complexity and plasticity. Structural biology research over the past decade has shed light on the molecular mechanisms of the assembly, catalysis, allosteric activation, autoinhibition, chemical inhibition, dimerization and chromatin targeting of various developmentally regulated PRC2 complexes. In addition to these aspects, structure-function analysis is also discussed in connection with disease data in this chapter.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationSubcellular Biochemistry
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media B.V.
Pages519-562
Number of pages44
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021

Publication series

NameSubcellular Biochemistry
Volume96
ISSN (Print)0306-0225

Keywords

  • Chromatin
  • Epigenetics
  • Gene repression
  • Histone methylation
  • Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2)
  • Structural biology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Cancer Research

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