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Review
. 2022 Jan;157(1):7-25.
doi: 10.1007/s00418-021-02036-2. Epub 2021 Oct 2.

Dynamic changes of histone methylation in mammalian oocytes and early embryos

Yesim Bilmez  1 , Gunel Talibova  1 , Saffet Ozturk  2
Affiliations
Review

Dynamic changes of histone methylation in mammalian oocytes and early embryos

Yesim Bilmez et al. Histochem Cell Biol. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Histone methylation is a key epigenetic mechanism and plays a major role in regulating gene expression during oocyte maturation and early embryogenesis. This mechanism can be briefly defined as the process by which methyl groups are transferred to lysine and arginine residues of histone tails extending from nucleosomes. While methylation of the lysine residues is catalyzed by histone lysine methyltransferases (KMTs), protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) add methyl groups to the arginine residues. When necessary, the added methyl groups can be reversibly removed by histone demethylases (HDMs) by a process called histone demethylation. The spatiotemporal regulation of methylation and demethylation in histones contributes to modulating the expression of genes required for proper oocyte maturation and early embryonic development. In this review, we comprehensively evaluate and discuss the functional importance of dynamic histone methylation in mammalian oocytes and early embryos, regulated by KMTs, PRMTs, and HDMs.

Keywords: Early embryo; Gene expression; Histone demethylation; Histone methylation; Histone methyltransferase; Oocyte.

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