HDAC7
Description
The HDAC7 (histone deacetylase 7) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 12.
Histone deacetylase 7 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the HDAC7 gene.
== Function == Histones play a critical role in transcriptional regulation, cell cycle progression, and developmental events. Histone acetylation/deacetylation alters chromosome structure and affects transcription factor access to DNA. The protein encoded by this gene has sequence homology to members of the histone deacetylase family. This gene is orthologous to mouse HDAC7 gene whose protein promotes repression mediated via transcriptional corepressor SMRT. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding several isoforms have been found for this gene. HDAC7 has both structural and functional similarity to HDACs 4, 5, and 9, as these four HDACs make up the Class IIa of HDACs in higher eukaryotes. Class IIa HDACs are phosphorylated by calcium/calmodulin dependent-kindase (CaMK) and protein kinase D (PKD) in response to kinase-dependent signaling. HDAC7 possesses little intrinsic deacetylase activity and therefore requires association with the class I HDAC, HDAC3 in order to suppress gene expression. It has been demonstrated through crystal structures of the human HDAC7 that the catalytic domain of HDAC7 has an additional class IIa HDAC-specific zinc binding motif adjacent to the active site. This is most likely to allow for substrate recognition and protein-protein interactions that are necessary for class IIa HDAC enzymes.
== Alternative functions == Although HDAC7 has shown to have little intrinsic deacetylase activity, studies have shown that HDAC7 may have various alternative functions related to development, proliferation, and inflammation.
HDAC7 is responsible for removing acetyl groups from lysine residues on the N-terminal tails of core histones (H2A, H2B, H3, and H4). This process, known as histone deacetylation, acts as a marker for epigenetic repression and plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression, cell cycle progression, and developmental processes. HDAC7 achieves its function by forming large multiprotein complexes. It is involved in muscle development by suppressing the transcription of myocyte enhancer factors, such as MEF2A, MEF2B, and MEF2C. During muscle differentiation, HDAC7 translocates to the cytoplasm, allowing the expression of these myocyte enhancer factors. HDAC7 may also be involved in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) latency by potentially repressing the viral BZLF1 gene. It positively regulates the transcriptional repressor activity of FOXP3. Furthermore, HDAC7 acts as a corepressor of RARA, causing its deacetylation and preventing binding to RARE DNA elements. In conjunction with RARA, HDAC7 contributes to the repression of microRNA-10a, thereby influencing the inflammatory response.
HDAC7 is also known as HD7, HD7A, HDAC7A.
