Schematic of the mechanisms of epigenetic regulation

Schematic of the mechanisms of epigenetic regulation. DNA methylation, histone modifications, and RNA-mediated gene silencing constitute three distinct mechanisms of epigenetic regulation. DNA methylation is a covalent modification of the cytosine (C) that is located 5' to a guanine (G) in a CpG dinucleotide. Histone (chromatin) modifications refer to covalent post-translational modifications of N-terminal tails of four core histones (H3, H4, H2A, and H2B). The most recent mechanism of epigenetic inheritance involves RNAs. Reproduced with permission from Z. Herzeg[1] ; (1)Sawan C,Vaissire T,Murr R,Herceg Z.Epigenetic drivers and genetic passengers on the road to cancer.Mutat Res. 2008 ;642(1-2):1-13.

Additional keywords: epigenetics,methylation,histone,chromosome,nucleosome