In vitro histone acetylation assay

Acetylation is a core cellular process involved in maintaining genomic integrity, gene regulation, and metabolism. Histone acetyltransferases (HATs) are an enzyme family that regulates these processes by catalyzing the transfer of an acetyl moiety onto target proteins. Perturbations of cellular acetylation profiles have been associated with a variety of disease states, including cancer. Changes in acetylation profiles can be achieved by mechanisms associated with acetyltransferases, such as gene down-regulation or alterations in the activity of key acetyltransferase enzymes. An important set of tools for quantifying enzyme activity are in vitro histone acetylation assays, using either endogenous or tagged overexpressed proteins. Detailed in this unit is an in vitro acetylation assay used to quantify HAT activity.