| As a major mechanism of epigenetic regulation, post-translational modification (PTM) of histones can regulate heritable gene expression by adding small molecule chemical groups, such as acetylation, methylation, and phosphorylation, to histone-specific sites by covalent bonding without altering the DNA sequence. These modifications constitute the histone code, which regulates chromatin opening in real time, thereby affecting protein structure, function, activity, and stability. The discovery of a series of novel histone modifications, such as lactylation and 2-hydroxyisobutyrylation, has further increased the complexity of the epigenetic regulation of the histone code, and aberrant alterations in histones and various modifying enzymes can promote tumorigenesis by inducing the epigenetic and transcriptome. The discovery of histone lactylation and 2-hydroxyisobutyrylation modifications and their modifying enzymes and the association between these two modifications and tumorigenesis are summarized throughout the paper, aiming to emphasize that in-depth study of these novel modifications plays an important role in exploring the pathogenesis and treatment of cancer. |
