Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics, 2025, Vol.13, No.2, 77-89 http://medscipublisher.com/index.php/cge 78 will recur. These research results indicate that histone modification may serve as a target for the diagnosis, prognosis determination and treatment of prostate cancer (Burlibașa et al., 2023). This study will explore the role of histone modification in prostate cancer and delve deeply into the current understanding of how specific histone modifications affect the development of prostate cancer. This study will analyze the possibility of histone modification as an indicator for the diagnosis and prognosis judgment of prostate cancer, and explore the treatment methods targeting these epigenetic changes. This study summarizes the research achievements in recent years, clarifies the significance of histone modification in prostate cancer research, and proposes future research directions to provide a reference for the development of this field. 2 Review of Histone Modification 2.1 Structure and function of histones and chromatin Histones are the core proteins that compress DNA and assemble it into nucleosomes, which are the basic units of chromatin. Each nucleosome contains the octamer of core histones (H2A, H2B, H3 and H4), with approximately 147 base pairs of DNA wound around it. This assembly is crucial for regulating a variety of DNA-related activities, including gene transcription, DNA replication and damage repair (Huang et al., 2015; Sigismondo et al., 2022). Core histones are very similar in different eukaryotes, indicating that they play an important role in maintaining chromatin structure and function. Chromatin is not fixed but a flexible structure that can adjust in response to cellular signals and environmental changes. The chemical modification of histones and the complexes responsible for reshaping chromatin promote this flexibility. They can change the openness of DNA to transcription factors and other DNA-binding proteins (Gelato and Fischle, 2008; Sigismondo et al., 2022). The interactions between histones and DNA, as well as with other non-histones, jointly determine the biochemical properties and functional states of chromatin, which can change due to intracellular and extracellular stimuli. 2.2 Histone modification types Histone modification is a chemical alteration (PTMs) that occurs on histone amino acids. These changes include methylation, acetylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination, etc. Each of them can differently affect the structure and function of chromatin (Campos and Reinberg, 2009; Huang et al., 2015). Methylation often occurs on lysine and arginine. Depending on the specific location and the number of methyl groups, it can promote or prevent gene transcription (Bannister and Kouzarides, 2011). For example, the trimethylation-associated gene of H3K4 is activated, while the trimethylation-associated gene of H3K27 is turned off . Acetylation mainly occurs on lysine and is usually associated with gene activation. It reduces the positive charge of histones, weakens the tight binding of histones to DNA, and makes chromatin more accessible. Phosphorylation is often related to the process of cell division, can change the structure of chromatin, and help assemble specific protein complexes to complete chromosome separation and DNA repair (Figure 1) (Schmitz et al., 2020). Ubiquitination, that is, adding ubiquitin molecules to histones, can mark histone degradation or change the tightness of chromatin, thereby regulating gene expression (Bannister and Kouzarides, 2011; Huang et al., 2015). Other modifications such as Sumoylation, ADP ribosylation and citrulination add more regulatory layers to chromatin activities. 2.3 The general role of histone modification in gene expression and cancer progression Histone modification plays a core role in controlling gene expression by adjusting the structure and openness of chromatin. These modifications can help or prevent regulatory proteins such as transcription factors from binding to DNA, thereby affecting whether genes are transcribed (Campos and Reinberg, 2009; Huang et al., 2015). For instance, acetylation of histone tail is usually associated with an open chromatin state and active transcription, while deacetylation leads to chromatin contraction and transcription cessation (Bannister and Kouzarides, 2011; Huang et al., 2015). Similarly, specific combinations of histone methylation can also turn genes on or off, depending on the specific environment (Huang et al., 2015).
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