The functional implications of these modifications are not clearly defined yet; however, an increasing number of investigations suggest two possible roles.
Intense investigation into the role of post-translational modifications, specifically phosphorylation and acetylation, has now begun, driven by the potential implications of these modifications in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies [ 4, 11, 16, 18, 19].
Although the biological implications of these extensive modifications remain to be elucidated, adenylation at the 3'-end has been shown to enhance the stability of mature miRNAs [38].
The nature and functional implications of these carbohydrate modifications awaits further analysis.
While the structural implications of this modification on these interactions is understood to some extent for p53 [ 13, 59, 60, 62, 63] little is known about p63 and p73.
The importance of lysine acetylation is well appreciated in the context of nuclear histone modifications (Strahl and Allis, 2000), but the regulatory implications of the modification extend beyond gene regulation.
The functional implications of many of these modifications are yet to be determined, but these findings highlight the importance of MS in discovering novel marks that may potentially expand the basic set of the 'combinatorial histone code' and possess important regulatory roles in diseases such as cancer.
The implications of these findings for modification of dose-specific breast cancer risk by fractionation and protraction of dose are unclear, and the results could reflect effects of yet unrecognized confounding factors [ 45].
We consider these findings in the context of a model for Ca(2+ -regulated gene expression in muscle cells and discuss potential implications of these findings for pharmacologic modification of cardiac and skeletal muscle function.
In deciding whether to publish papers describing modifications of the human germline, the Journal is guided by safety considerations, compliance with applicable regulations, as well as the status of the societal debate on the implications of such modifications for future generations.
