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Letter

Nature Cell Biology 9, 1208–1215 (1 October 2007) | doi:10.1038/ncb1642

Protein arginine-methyltransferase-dependent oncogenesis

Ngai Cheung , Li Chong Chan , Alex Thompson , Michael L Cleary & Chi Wai Eric So

Enzymes that mediate reversible epigenetic modifications have not only been recognized as key in regulating gene expression and oncogenesis, but also provide potential targets for molecular therapy. Although the methylation of arginine 3 of histone 4 (H4R3) by protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) is a critical modification for active chromatin and prevention of heterochromatin spread, there has been no direct evidence of any role of PRMTs in cancer.