Acute Myeloid Leukemia Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Acute Myeloid Leukemia, including details on aml, symptoms, treatment, information.

A COMPASS in the voyage of defining the role of trithorax/MLL-containing complexes: linking leukemogensis to covalent modifications of chromatin.

Tenney K, Shilatifard A

Edward A. Doisy Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center, Saint Louis, MO 63104, USA.

Chromosomal rearrangements and translocations play a major role in the pathogenesis of hematological malignancies. The trithorax-related mixed lineage leukemia (Mll) gene located on chromosome 11 is rearranged in a variety of aggressive human B and T lymphoid tumors as well as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in both children and adults. It was first demonstrated for the yeast MLL homolog complex, Set1/COMPASS, and now for the MLL complex itself, that these complexes are histone methyltransferases capable of methylating the fourth lysine of histone H3. The post-translational modifications of histones by methylation have emerged as a key regulatory mechanism for both repression and activation of gene expression. Studies from several laboratories during the past few years have brought about a watershed of information defining the molecular machinery and factors involved in the recognition and modification of nucleosomal histones by methylation. In this review, we will discuss the recent findings regarding the molecular mechanism and consequences of histone modification by the MLL related protein containing complex COMPASS.

Published 16 May 2005 in J Cell Biochem, 95(3): 429-36.
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