Epigenetic regulation of post-transcriptional machinery

The eukaryotic cell uses alternative splicing to generate the wide diversity of proteins present in an organism. For a long time, it was believed that the splicing regulatory factors were controlling the splicing mechanism. Recent studies have shown that the chromatin remodeling mechanisms play a decisive role in alternative splicing. In this chapter, we explore the role of histone modifications, ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling proteins, and DNA methylation in regulating alternative splicing. We show that the epigenetic modulators either by altering the chromatin architecture or by recruiting spliceosome complex via protein–protein interactions regulate the inclusion/exclusion of exons and thus, the alternate transcript produced in a cell.