Modifications of histones, the chief protein components of the chromatin, have emerged as critical regulators of life and death. While the "apoptotic histone code" came to light a few years ago, accumulating evidence indicates that autophagy, a cell survival pathway, is also heavily regulated by histone-modifying proteins. In this review we describe the emerging "autophagic histone code" and the role of histone modifications in the cellular life vs. death decision.
Keywords: EHMT2/G9a; HAT; HDAC; HDM; HMT; KAT8/hMOF/MYST1; SUV420H2; histone code; histone posttranslational modifications.