Promoter-specific relevance of histone modifications induced by dexamethasone during the regulation of pro-inflammatory mediators

In this study, histone post-translational modifications were investigated for their involvement in the regulation of selected pro-inflammatory genes - expressed in human monocyte-derived macrophages - in response to treatment with synthetic GC dexamethasone (DEX). We show that histone tail acetylation status is modified following DEX administration, through distinct and alternative mechanisms at the promoters of interleukin-8 and interleukin-23. In addition to histone H3 acetylation, our results demonstrate that H3 lysine 4 trimethylation is affected following drug treatment.