Histone Chaperones in Cancer

Histone epigenetics has three layers including histone modifications, histone variants, and histone chaperones. Unlike the first two components, limited information on histone chaperones in diseases is available. However, with recent technological advances, these fundamental molecules are gradually rising above to demonstrate their role in diseases like cancer. In this chapter, we will focus on different types of histone chaperones that are associated with cancers of different histological origins, their broad mechanistic pathway of regulation, and finally their usage in therapeutics. Similar to the nature of cancer, most of the histone chaperones are multifunctional. In addition to histone metabolism, they regulate DNA repair, replication, transcription, and other biological phenomena. The contribution of histone chaperones in cancer is resourced from their mutation, chromosomal translocation, and altered level in comparison to normal healthy individual. Unlike the histone-modifying enzymes, the potential of histone chaperones is yet to be exploited in therapeutics. It is always a better idea to design targets which can be modulated without infusing any change at the genomic level; hence exploiting the components of histone epigenetics in this context would be highly favorable for future medicines.