Sodium butyrate
Encyclopedia
Sodium butyrate is a compound with formula Na(C3H7COO). It is the sodium
salt
of butyric acid
. It has various effects on cultured mammalian cells including inhibition of proliferation
, induction of differentiation
and induction
or repression
of gene expression. As such, it can be used in lab to bring about any of these effects. Specifically, butyrate treatment of cells results in histone hyperacetylation, and butyrate itself inhibits HDAC activity. Butyrate has been an essential vehicle for determining the role of histone acetylation
in chromatin
structure and function. Inhibition of HDAC activity is estimated to affect the expression of only 2% of mammalian genes.
Sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal and is a member of the alkali metals; its only stable isotope is 23Na. It is an abundant element that exists in numerous minerals, most commonly as sodium chloride...
salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
of butyric acid
Butyric acid
Butyric acid , also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a carboxylic acid with the structural formula CH3CH2CH2-COOH. Salts and esters of butyric acid are known as butyrates or butanoates...
. It has various effects on cultured mammalian cells including inhibition of proliferation
Cell growth
The term cell growth is used in the contexts of cell development and cell division . When used in the context of cell division, it refers to growth of cell populations, where one cell grows and divides to produce two "daughter cells"...
, induction of differentiation
Cellular differentiation
In developmental biology, cellular differentiation is the process by which a less specialized cell becomes a more specialized cell type. Differentiation occurs numerous times during the development of a multicellular organism as the organism changes from a simple zygote to a complex system of...
and induction
Regulation of gene expression
Gene modulation redirects here. For information on therapeutic regulation of gene expression, see therapeutic gene modulation.Regulation of gene expression includes the processes that cells and viruses use to regulate the way that the information in genes is turned into gene products...
or repression
Repressor
In molecular genetics, a repressor is a DNA-binding protein that regulates the expression of one or more genes by binding to the operator and blocking the attachment of RNA polymerase to the promoter, thus preventing transcription of the genes. This blocking of expression is called...
of gene expression. As such, it can be used in lab to bring about any of these effects. Specifically, butyrate treatment of cells results in histone hyperacetylation, and butyrate itself inhibits HDAC activity. Butyrate has been an essential vehicle for determining the role of histone acetylation
Histone acetylation and deacetylation
In histone acetylation and deacetylation, the histones are acetylated and deacetylated on lysine residues in the N-terminal tail and on the surface of the nucleosome core as part of gene regulation. These reactions are typically catalyzed by enzymes with "histone acetyltransferase" or "histone...
in chromatin
Chromatin
Chromatin is the combination of DNA and proteins that make up the contents of the nucleus of a cell. The primary functions of chromatin are; to package DNA into a smaller volume to fit in the cell, to strengthen the DNA to allow mitosis and meiosis and prevent DNA damage, and to control gene...
structure and function. Inhibition of HDAC activity is estimated to affect the expression of only 2% of mammalian genes.