Optoepigenetics: An acetylation photoswitch

The use of light to control biological function has received considerable attention because of the unparalleled precision with which it can be administered in regard to dose, time and space. During the last decade, revolutionary genetically encoded optogenetic methods have been pioneered1,2, and sev...

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Published inNature chemical biology Vol. 12; no. 5; pp. 306 - 307
Main Authors Madsen, Andreas S, Olsen, Christian A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Nature Publishing Group 01.05.2016
Subjects
Acetylation
Azo Compounds
Biology
Enzymes
Genetics
Light
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Summary:The use of light to control biological function has received considerable attention because of the unparalleled precision with which it can be administered in regard to dose, time and space. During the last decade, revolutionary genetically encoded optogenetic methods have been pioneered1,2, and several azobenzene-based photoswitches have emerged, including engineered photoresponsive ion channels and G proteincoupled receptors as well as photosensitive anesthetics and antibiotics3. These methods have now also been applied to transcriptional regulation with the recent demonstration of reduction of H3K9 acetylation levels through the use of a light-inducible protein-protein interaction4. Administration of light-inducible small molecules that perturb histone-modifying enzymes has the potential to usher in a new area of optoepigenetics.
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ISSN:1552-4450
1552-4469
DOI:10.1038/nchembio.2049