Cells synthesize proteins using 20 standard amino acids and expand their biochemical repertoire through intricate enzyme-mediated post-translational modifications (PTMs). PTMs can either be static and represent protein editing events or be dynamically regulated as a part of a cellular response to specific stimuli. Protein histidine methylation (Hme) was an elusive PTM for over 5 decades and has only recently attracted considerable attention through discoveries concerning its enzymology, extent, and function. Here, we review the status of the Hme field and discuss the implications of Hme in physiological and cellular processes. We also review the experimental toolbox for analysis of Hme and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of different experimental approaches. The findings discussed in this review demonstrate that Hme is widespread across cells and tissues and functionally regulates key cellular processes such as cytoskeletal dynamics and protein translation. Collectively, the findings discussed here showcase Hme as a regulator of key cellular functions and highlight the regulation of this modification as an emerging field of biological research.

中文翻译：

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蛋白质组氨酸甲基化的酶学和意义。

细胞使用 20 种标准氨基酸合成蛋白质，并通过复杂的酶介导的翻译后修饰 (PTM) 扩展其生化库。PTM 可以是静态的并代表蛋白质编辑事件，也可以作为对特定刺激的细胞反应的一部分进行动态调节。蛋白质组氨酸甲基化 (Hme) 是一种 50 多年来难以捉摸的 PTM，直到最近才通过有关其酶学、程度和功能的发现引起了相当大的关注。在这里，我们回顾了 Hme 领域的状态并讨论了 Hme 在生理和细胞过程中的影响。我们还回顾了用于分析 Hme 的实验工具箱，并讨论了不同实验方法的优缺点。本综述中讨论的发现表明 Hme 广泛存在于细胞和组织中，并在功能上调节关键细胞过程，如细胞骨架动力学和蛋白质翻译。总的来说，这里讨论的发现展示了 Hme 作为关键细胞功能的调节剂，并强调了这种修饰作为生物研究的新兴领域的调节。