Inheritance of stress-induced epigenetic changes mediated by the ATF-2 family of transcription factors

Abstract

The inheritance of stress effects has attracted much attention of late, partly because it resembles the inheritance of acquired characteristics. Accumulating evidence suggests that various stress effects may be inherited, including environmental stresses and responses to adverse nutritional conditions. Although factors such as epigenetic regulation have been implicated, the precise underlying mechanisms are obscure. The ATF-2 family of transcription factors is directly phosphorylated by stress-activated protein kinases, such as p38, in response to various stresses. In the absence of stress, they contribute to the formation of heterochromatin, which is rich in histone H3 Lys-9 trimethylation, and is a typical epigenetic marker that can be inherited. Disrupted heterochromatin, resulting from phosphorylation of ATF-2 and its related proteins, can also be inherited. This review summarizes current data on the inheritance of stress-induced epigenetic changes mediated by the ATF-2 family of transcription factors.