As a major mechanism for the epigenetic regulation, the histone methylation has a crucial impact on the decoding of the genetic information. The histone methylation can be recognized by a class of so-called "reader" modules to mediate the downstream functional outcomes. In this paper, we review the structural aspects of the reported histone methylation readers (e.g. "royal family" members, PHD finger, BAH), and illustrate the molecular basis underlying the site- and state- specific readouts of the histone methylation. This review also covers the concepts of the combinatorial readout and the modification crosstalk in the epigenetic regulation.

histone reader  /  histone methylation  /  epigenetic regulation  /  combinatorial readout  /  modification crosstalk  /  crystal structure