Definition of "histone" []

• Any of several small, basic proteins most commonly found in association with the DNA in the chromatin of eukaryotes. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "There is a sophisticated code, known as the histone code, that directs the decisions as to which parts of the DNA sequence are transcribed into mRNA and which are not."
• "Typically, the gossamer thread of DNA is wound around a spool of protein called histone; when this second class of enzymes strips away part of the packaging, the DNA becomes so tightly wound up that it can't loosen up enough to be read by the cell."
• "A group of agents called histone deacetylase inhibitors can help here, says Sharon Lewin, director of the infectious-diseases unit at Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, who is about to start a clinical trial of a histone-deacetylase inhibitor called SAHA."