Histone acetylation and deacetylation are the processes by which the lysine residues within the N-terminal tail protruding from the histone core of the nucleosome are acetylated and deacetylated as part of gene regulation. Histone acetylation and deacetylation are essential parts of gene regulation. These reactions are typically catalysed by enzymes with "histone acetyltransferase" (HAT) or "histone deacetylase" (HDAC) activity. Acetylation is the process where an acetyl functional group is transferred from one molecule (in this case, acetyl coenzyme A) to another. Deacetylation is simply the reverse reaction where an acetyl group is removed from a molecule.

Acetylated histones, octameric proteins that organize chromatin into nucleosomes, the basic structural unit of the chromosomes and ultimately higher order structures, represent a type of epigenetic marker within chromatin. Acetylation removes the positive charge on the histones, thereby decreasing the interaction of the N termini of histones with the negatively charged phosphate groups of DNA. As a consequence, the condensed chromatin is transformed into a more relaxed structure that is associated with greater levels of gene transcription. This relaxation can be reversed by deacetylation catalyzed by HDAC activity. Relaxed, transcriptionally active DNA is referred to as euchromatin. More condensed (tightly packed) DNA is referred to as heterochromatin. Condensation can be brought about by processes including deacetylation and methylation.

Mechanism of action

Nucleosomes are portions of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) that are wrapped around protein complexes called histone cores. These histone cores are composed of 8 subunits, two each of H2A, H2B, H3 and H4 histones. This protein complex forms a cylindrical shape that dsDNA wraps around with approximately 147 base pairs. Nucleosomes are formed as a beginning step for DNA compaction that also contributes to structural support as well as serves functional roles. These functional roles are contributed by the tails of the histone subunits. The histone tails insert themselves in the minor grooves of the DNA and extend through the double helix, which leaves them open for modifications involved in transcriptional activation. Acetylation has been closely associated with increases in transcriptional activation while deacetylation has been linked with transcriptional deactivation. These reactions occur post-translation and are reversible.

The mechanism for acetylation and deacetylation takes place on the NH3+ groups of lysine amino acid residues. These residues are located on the tails of histones that make up the nucleosome of packaged dsDNA. The process is aided by factors known as histone acetyltransferases (HATs). HAT molecules facilitate the transfer of an acetyl group from a molecule of acetyl-coenzyme A (Acetyl-CoA) to the NH3+ group on lysine. When a lysine is to be deacetylated, factors known as histone deacetylases (HDACs) catalyze the removal of the acetyl group with a molecule of H2O.

Acetylation has the effect of changing the overall charge of the histone tail from positive to neutral. Nucleosome formation is dependent on the positive charges of the H4 histones and the negative charge on the surface of H2A histone fold domains. Acetylation of the histone tails disrupts this association, leading to weaker binding of the nucleosomal components. By doing this, the DNA is more accessible and leads to more transcription factors being able to reach the DNA. Thus, acetylation of histones is known to increase the expression of genes through transcription activation. Deacetylation performed by HDAC molecules has the opposite effect. By deacetylating the histone tails, the DNA becomes more tightly wrapped around the histone cores, making it harder for transcription factors to bind to the DNA. This leads to decreased levels of gene expression and is known as gene silencing.

Acetylated histones, the octomeric protein cores of nucleosomes, represent a type of epigenetic marker within chromatin. Studies have shown that one modification has the tendency to influence whether another modification will take place. Modifications of histones can not only cause secondary structural changes at their specific points, but can cause many structural changes in distant locations which inevitably affects function. As the chromosome is replicated, the modifications that exist on the parental chromosomes are handed down to daughter chromosomes. The modifications, as part of their function, can recruit enzymes for their particular function and can contribute to the continuation of modifications and their effects after replication has taken place. It has been shown that, even past one replication, expression of genes may still be affected many cell generations later. A study showed that, upon inhibition of HDAC enzymes by Trichostatin A, genes inserted next to centric heterochromatin showed increased expression. Many cell generations later, in the absence of the inhibitor, the increased gene expression was still expressed, showing modifications can be carried through many replication processes such as mitosis and meiosis.

Histone acetylation/deacetylation enzymes

Histone acetyltransferase (HATs)

Histone Acetyltransferases, also known as HATs, are a family of enzymes that acetylate the histone tails of the nucleosome. This, and other modifications, are expressed based on the varying states of the cellular environment. Many proteins with acetylating abilities have been documented and, after a time, were categorized based on sequence similarities between them. These similarities are high among members of a family, but members from different families show very little resemblance. Some of the major families identified so far are as follows.

GNAT family

General Control Non-Derepressible 5 (Gcn5) –related N-Acetyltransferases (GNATs) is one of the many studied families with acetylation abilities. This superfamily includes the factors Gcn5 which is included in the SAGA, SLIK, STAGA, ADA, and A2 complexes, Gcn5L, p300/CREB-binding protein associated factor (PCAF), Elp3, HPA2 and HAT1. Major features of the GNAT family include HAT domains approximately 160 residues in length and a conserved bromodomain that has been found to be an acetyl-lysine targeting motif. Gcn5 has been shown to acetylate substrates when it is part of a complex. Recombinant Gcn5 has been found to be involved in the acetylation of the H3 histones of the nucleosome. To a lesser extent, it has been found to also acetylate H2B and H4 histones when involved with other complexes. PCAF has the ability to act as a HAT protein and acetylate histones, it can acetylate non-histone proteins related to transcription, as well as act as a coactivator in many processes including myogenesis, nuclear-receptor-mediated activation and growth-factor-signaled activation. Elp3 has the ability to acetylate all histone subunits and also shows involvement in the RNA polymerase II holoenzyme.

MYST family

MOZ (Monocytic Leukemia Zinc Finger Protein), Ybf2/Sas3, Sas2 and Tip60 (Tat Interacting Protein) all make up MYST, another well known family that exhibits acetylating capabilities. This family includes Sas3, essential SAS-related acetyltransferase (Esa1), Sas2, Tip60, MOF, MOZ, MORF, and HBO1. The members of this family have multiple functions, not only with activating and silencing genes, but also affect development and have implications in human diseases. Sas2 and Sas3 are involved in transcription silencing, MOZ and TIF2 are involved with the formation of leukemic transclocation products while MOF is involved in dosage compensation in Drosophila. MOF also influences spermatogenesis in mice as it is involved in the expansion of H2AX phosphorylation during the leptotene to pachytene stages of meiosis. HAT domains for this family are approximately 250 residues which include cysteine-rich, zinc binding domains as well as N-terminal chromodomains. The MYST proteins Esa1, Sas2 and Sas3 are found in yeast, MOF is found in Drosophila and mice while Tip60, MOZ, MORF, and HBO1 are found in humans. Tip60 has roles in the regulation of gene transcription, HBO has been found to impact the DNA replication process, MORF is able to acetylate free histones (especially H3 and H4) as well as nucleosomal histones.

p300/CBP family

Adenoviral E1A-associated protein of 300kDa (p300) and the CREB-binding protein (CBP) make up the next family of HATs. This family of HATs contain HAT domains that are approximately 500 residues long and contain bromodomains as well as three cysteine-histidine rich domains that help with protein interactions. These HATs are known to acetylate all of the histone subunits in the nucleosome. They also have the ability to acetylate and mediate non-histone proteins involved in transcription and are also involved in the cell-cycle, differentiation and apoptosis.

Other HATs

There are other proteins that have acetylating abilities but differ in structure to the previously mentioned families. One HAT is called steroid receptor coactivator 1 (SRC1), which has a HAT domain located at the C-terminus end of the protein along with a basic helix-loop-helix and PAS A and PAS B domains with a LXXLL receptor interacting motif in the middle. Another is ATF-2 which contains a transcriptional activation (ACT) domain and a basic zipper DNA-binding (bZip) domain with a HAT domain in-between. The last is TAFII250 which has a Kinase domain at the N-terminus region, two bromodomains located at the C-terminus region and a HAT domain located in-between.

Histone deacetylase (HDACs)

There are a total of four classes that categorize Histone Deacetylases (HDACs). Class I includes HDACs 1, 2, 3, and 8. Class II is divided into two subgroups, Class IIA and Class IIB. Class IIA includes HDACs 4, 5, 7, and 9 while Class IIB includes HDACs 6 and 10. Class III contains the Sirtuins and Class IV contains only HDAC11. Classes of HDAC proteins are divided and grouped together based on the comparison to the sequence homologies of Rpd3, Hos1 and Hos2 for Class I HDACs, HDA1 and Hos3 for the Class II HDACs and the sirtuins for Class III HDACs.

Class I HDACs

HDAC1 & HDAC2

HDAC1 & HDAC2 are in the first class of HDACs are most closely related to one another. By analyzing the overall sequences of both HDACs, their similarity was found to be approximately 82% homologous. These enzymes have been found to be inactive when isolated which led to the conclusion that they must be incorporated with cofactors in order to activate their deacetylase abilities. There are three major protein complexes that HDAC 1 & 2 may incorporate themselves into. These complexes include Sin3 (named after its characteristic protein mSin3A), Nucleosome Remodelling and Deacetylating complex (NuRD), and Co-REST. The Sin3 complex and the NuRD complex both contain HDACs 1 and 2, the Rb-associated protein 48 (RbAp48) and RbAp46 which make up the core of each complex. Other complexes may be needed though in order to initiate the maximum amount of available activity possible. HDACs 1 and 2 can also bind directly to DNA binding proteins such as Yin and Yang 1 (YY1), Rb binding protein 1 and Sp1. HDACs 1 and 2 have been found to express regulatory roles in key cell cycle genes including p21.