Conformational signals in the C-terminal domain of methionine adenosyltransferase I/III determine its nucleocytoplasmic distribution

What is it about?

In this work we describe that the enzyme synthesizing S-adenosylmethionine, the main cellular methyl donor, locates to the cytoplasm and the nucleus of cells. In the nucleus its accumulation correlates with changes in histone marks that repress gene expression.

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Why is it important?

Formerly, it was assumed that S-adenosylmethionine was synthesized in the cytoplasm and transported to any other localization as needed. Our results demonstrate that this is not the case for the nucleus, where an enzyme pool is maintained to guarantee the adequate supply required for epigenetic methylations.