Description
Histone deacetylases (HDAC) are a class of enzymes that remove acetyl groups from a ε-N-acetyl lysine amino acid on a histone. Deacetylation restores the positive electric charge of the lysine amino acids, which increases the histone’s affinity to the negatively charged phosphate backbone of DNA. This process generally down-regulates DNA transcription by blocking the access of transcription factors. HDAC inhibitors are being studied as a treatment for cancer