Project description:KAT2B (PCAF) belongs to GNAT family of lysine acetyltransferases (KAT), which specifically acetylates histone H3K9 residue and several nonhistone proteins. PCAF is also a transcription coactivator. Due to the lack of PCAF, KAT specific small molecule inhibitor, the exclusive role of the acetyltransferase activity of PCAF is not well understood. Here we report that a hydroxy benzoquinone class of natural compound, embelin, specifically inhibits H3Lys9 acetylation in mice and recombinant PCAF mediated acetylation with near complete specificity in vitro. Further, using embelin, we have identified the PCAF regulated gene networks during muscle differentiation, further highlighting the broader regulatory functions of PCAF in muscle differentiation, apart from regulation through MyoD acetylation. HEK 293T cells were treated with DMSO (solvent control) and 20uM embelin for 24h. Cells were harvested and total RNA was extracted by Trizol method. RNA was cleaned up using RNeasy MinElute Cleanup Kit (Qiagen) and reverse transcribed, labelled and subsequently hybridized to Agilent human 4X 44k array slide.
