MeCP2: the long trip from a chromatin protein to neurological disorders

J Ausió, AM de Paz, M Esteller - Trends in molecular medicine, 2014 - cell.com
Trends in molecular medicine, 2014cell.com
Since the discovery of its fundamental involvement in Rett syndrome, methyl CpG binding
protein 2 (MeCP2) has been the focus of an exhaustive biochemical and functional
characterization. It is now becoming apparent that the intrinsic highly disordered nature of
MeCP2, which is amenable to a plethora of post-translational modifications (PTMs), allows it
to recognize a large number of protein interacting partners, including histones. MeCP2 is
highly abundant in the brain and it is an important component of neuronal chromatin; …
Since the discovery of its fundamental involvement in Rett syndrome, methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) has been the focus of an exhaustive biochemical and functional characterization. It is now becoming apparent that the intrinsic highly disordered nature of MeCP2, which is amenable to a plethora of post-translational modifications (PTMs), allows it to recognize a large number of protein interacting partners, including histones. MeCP2 is highly abundant in the brain and it is an important component of neuronal chromatin; nevertheless, the organization and implications of its involvement in terms of DNA methylation binding dependence and effects on transcription are still not well understood. Recent results have shown that MeCP2 plays an important role in brain development, aging, and in neurological disorders.
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