Description
Epigenetic activation or inactivation of genes play a critical role in many important human diseases, especially in cancer. A major mechanism for epigenetic inactivation of the genes is methylation of CpG islands in genome DNA caused by DNA methyltransferases. Histone methyltransferases (HMTs) control or regulate DNA methylation through chromatin-dependent transcriptional repression or activation. HMTs transfer 1-3 methyl groups from S-adenosyl-L-methionine to the lysine and arginine residues of histone proteins. PR-SET7, SET9, SUV4.20h, and ASH1are histone methyltransferases that catalyze methylation of histone H4 at lysine 20 (H4K20) in mammalian cells. Di-methylation of H4K20 has been de-scribed as another repressive chromatin domain and is involved in DNA damage response. The H4K20 di-methylation can also be changed by inhibiton or activation of HMTs, making quantitative detection of di-methyl histone H4K20 a useful tool for better understanding epigenetic regulation of gene activation/repression. This information is also useful for developing HMT-targeted drugs. Di-Methyl Histone H4K20 Quantification Kit (Colorimetric) provides a tool for measuring di-methylation of histone H4K20