Crystal structures of the human histone H4K20 methyltransferases SUV420H1 and SUV420H2
SUV420H1 and SUV420H2 are two highly homologous enzymes that methylate lysine 20 of histone H4 (H4K20) a mark that has been implicated in transcriptional regulation. In this study, we present the high resolution crystal structures of human SUV420H1 and SUV420H2 in complex with SAM, and report their substrate specificity. Both methyltransferases have a unique N terminal domain and Zn binding post SET domain, and prefer the monomethylated histone H4K20 as a substrate in vitro. No histone H4K20 trimethylation activity was detected by our radioactivity based assay for either enzyme, consistent with the presence of a conserved serine residue that forms a hydrogen bond with the target lysine side chain and limits the methylation level.
FEBS letters