ToxSci Advance Access originally published online on May 12, 2004
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Toxicological Sciences 80, 218-224 (2004)
Toxicological Sciences vol. 80 no. 2 © Society of Toxicology 2004; all rights reserved.
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The Role of Chromatin in Molecular Mechanisms of Toxicity
Syngenta CTL, Cheshire SK10 4TJ, United Kingdom
Received March 17, 2004; accepted April 29, 2004
Eukaryotic cells store their genetic information in the form of a highly organized nucleoprotein complex termed chromatin. The high degree of compaction of DNA within chromatin places severe constraints on proteins that require access to the DNA template to facilitate gene transcription, DNA replication, and DNA repair. As a consequence, eukaryotic cells have developed sophisticated mechanisms to allow chromatin to be rapidly decompacted locally for access by DNA-binding proteins. Once thought to play only a structural role, it now appears that chromatin plays a key regulatory role by marshalling access to the DNA template. We have reviewed the role played by chromatin in the cellular response to physiological and toxicological stimuli and described how changes in chromatin structure may in the future be used as markers of toxicity. We also review the evidence that chromatin itself is the direct target of certain toxicants and that toxicant-induced perturbations in chromatin structure may precipitate adverse effects.
Key Words: chromatin; histone; toxicology; genome; epigenetic.
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