The role of chromatin modifiers in normal and malignant hematopoiesis
Cet article passe en revue les travaux récents sur le rôle des enzymes modifiant la chromatine dans l'hématopoïèse normale et dans le développement d'un cancer hématologique
Complex developmental processes such as hematopoiesis require a series of precise and coordinated changes in cellular identity to ensure blood homeostasis. Epigenetic mechanisms help drive changes in gene expression that accompany the transition from hematopoietic stem cells to terminally differentiated blood cells. Genome-wide profiling technologies now provide valuable glimpses of epigenetic changes that occur during normal hematopoiesis, and genetic mouse models developed to investigate the in vivo functions of chromatin modifying enzymes clearly demonstrate significant roles for these enzymes during embryonic and adult hematopoiesis. Here we will review the basic science aspects of chromatin modifications and the enzymes that add, remove, and interpret these epigenetic marks. This overview will provide a framework for understanding the roles that these molecules during normal hematopoiesis. Moreover, a number of chromatin modifying enzymes are involved in hematological malignancies, underscoring the importance of establishing and maintaining appropriate chromatin modification patterns to normal hematology.