Cancer cells, on your histone marks, get SETDB1, silence retrotransposons, and go!

J Cell Biol. 2017 Nov 6;216(11):3429-3431. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201710068. Epub 2017 Oct 24.

Abstract

Cancer cells thrive on genetic and epigenetic changes that confer a selective advantage but also need strategies to avoid immune recognition. In this issue, Cuellar et al. (2017. J. Cell Biol https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201612160) find that the histone methyltransferase SETDB1 enables acute myeloid leukemia cells to evade sensing of retrotransposons by innate immune receptors.

Publication types

  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Epigenesis, Genetic
  • Histone Code
  • Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase
  • Humans
  • Interferons*
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute*
  • Protein Methyltransferases
  • Retroelements

Substances

  • Retroelements
  • Interferons
  • Protein Methyltransferases
  • Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase
  • SETDB1 protein, human