Epigenetics is an emerging field, due to its relevance in the regulation
of a wide range of biological processes. The Su(Var)3-9,
Enhancer-of-zeste and Trithorax (SET) and Myeloid, Nervy, and DEAF-1
(MYND) domain-containing (SMYD) proteins, named SMYD1, SMYD2, SMYD3,
SMYD4 and SMYD5, are enzymes that catalyse methylation of histone and
non-histone substrates, thereby playing a key role in gene expression
regulation in many biological contexts, such as muscle development and
physiology, haematopoiesis and many types of cancer. This review focuses
on a relatively unexplored aspect of SMYD family members - their
relation with immunology. Here, immunology is defined in the broadest
sense of the word, including basic research on macrophage function or
host immunity against pathogen infection, as well as clinical studies,
most of which are centred on blood cancers.
The SMYD family proteins in immunology