Emerging evidence for clinical significance of histone methyltransferase PRDM9 in reproductive system and cancer development
Abstract
PRDM9 is a histone methyltransferase able to trimethylate histone 3 at lysine-4 and lysine-36 residues. Since its discovery in 2005, there has been significant progress in the characterization of the structure and functions of PRDM9.
The primary studies all pointed out at its role in meiosis and recombination; however, there are indications that it may be involved in other cellular processes as well. Such an additional role of PRDM9 in other types of cells and tissues apart the germ cells is still an open question.
Small cohort of studies compared to the entire literature for PRDM9 hints for possible expression of this gene in other locations and having clinical significance in reproductive and cancer biology fields. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about the meiotic and non-meiotic functions of PRDM9, effect of stress on the achievements and we list the remaining questions waiting to be answered.