New publication in "Journal of Biological Chemistry"

The human CARNMT1 protein was recently reported as a novel protein histidine methyltransferase (HMT). In collaboration with a group at University of Oslo (Norway), we here describe uncovering of CARNMT1's protein HMT activity, and provide a comprehensive investigation of its methylation substrates and detailed substrate specificity. We identified several CARNMT1 targets that were methylated in vitro and in cells, many of which were C3H zinc finger proteins. We also discovered that CARNMT1 has a complex mode of substrate recognition where the recognition of individual substrate residues is strongly dependent on the entire sequence context.