Histone H3

Histone H3 is one of the five main histone proteins involved in the structure of chromatin in eukaryotic cells. Featuring a main globular domain and a long N-terminal tail, H3 is involved with the structure of the nucleosomes of the 'beads on a string' structure. Histone proteins are highly post-translationally modified however Histone H3 is the most extensively modified of the five histones. The term "Histone H3" alone is purposely ambiguous in that it does not distinguish between sequence variants or modification state. Histone H3 is an important protein in the emerging field of epigenetics, where its sequence variants and variable modification states are thought to play a role in the dynamic and long term regulation of genes.

Epigenetics and post-translational modifications

The N-terminal tail of histone H3 protrudes from the globular nucleosome core and can undergo several different types of post-translational modification that influence cellular processes. These modifications include the covalent attachment of methyl or acetyl groups to lysine and arginine amino acids and the phosphorylation of serine or threonine. Di- and Tri-methylation of Lysine 9 are associated with repression and heterochromatin, while mono-methylation of K4 is associated with active genes. Acetylation of histone H3 occurs at several different lysine positions in the histone tail and is performed by a family of enzymes known as histone acetyltransferases (HATs). Acetylation of lysine14 is commonly seen in genes that are being actively transcribed into RNA.