In Vitro Activity Assays for MYST Histone Acetyltransferases and Adaptation for High-Throughput Inhibitor Screening

• Published in: Methods in enzymology Vol. 573; p. 139
• Main Authors: McCullough, C E, Marmorstein, R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 2016
• Subjects: Acetyl Coenzyme A - metabolism; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical - methods; Enzyme Assays - methods; Enzyme Inhibitors - pharmacology; High-Throughput Screening Assays - methods; Histone Acetyltransferases - antagonists & inhibitors; Histone Acetyltransferases - chemistry; Histone Acetyltransferases - metabolism; Humans; Recombinant Proteins - chemistry; Recombinant Proteins - metabolism; High-throughput screening; Enzyme assays; Ping-pong mechanism; Bisubstrate kinetics; MYST proteins; Histone acetyltransferases
• ISSN: 1557-7988
• DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2016.01.016

Lysine acetylation is a posttranslational modification that is carried out by acetyltransferases. The MYST proteins form the largest and most diverse family of acetyltransferases, which regulate gene expression, DNA repair, and cell cycle homeostasis, among other activities, by acetylating both histone and nonhistone proteins. This chapter will describe methods for the preparation and biochemical characterization of MYST family acetyltransferases, including protocols for the preparation of recombinant protein, enzyme assays for measuring steady-state parameters, and binding assays to measure cofactor and inhibitor binding. We also provide details on adapting these assays for high-throughput screening for small molecule MYST inhibitors. This chapter seeks to prepare researchers for some hurdles that they may encounter when studying the MYST proteins so that there may be better opportunity to plan appropriate controls and obtain high-quality data.