A wealth of biochemical and cellular data, accumulated over several years by multiple groups, has provided a great degree of insight into the molecular mechanisms of actions of GCN5 and PCAF in gene activation. Studies of these lysine acetyltransferases (KATs) in vitro, in cultured cells, have revealed general mechanisms for their recruitment by sequence-specific binding factors and their molecular functions as transcriptional co-activators. Genetic studies indicate that GCN5 and PCAF are involved in multiple developmental processes in vertebrates, yet our understanding of their molecular functions in these contexts remains somewhat rudimentary. Understanding the functions of GCN5/PCAF in developmental processes provides clues to the roles of these KATs in disease states. Here we will review what is currently known about the developmental roles of GCN5 and PCAF, as well as emerging role of these KATs in oncogenesis.

多个小组多年来积累的大量生化和细胞数据，为 GCN5 和 PCAF 在基因激活中作用的分子机制提供了很大程度的洞察力。这些赖氨酸乙酰转移酶 (KAT)的体外研究，在培养的细胞中，揭示了它们通过序列特异性结合因子募集的一般机制及其作为转录共激活因子的分子功能。遗传学研究表明，GCN5 和 PCAF 参与了脊椎动物的多个发育过程，但我们对它们在这些背景下的分子功能的理解仍然有些初步。了解 GCN5/PCAF 在发育过程中的功能为这些 KAT 在疾病状态中的作用提供了线索。在这里，我们将回顾目前对 GCN5 和 PCAF 的发育作用的了解，以及这些 KAT 在肿瘤发生中的新兴作用。