Chtop, short for Chromatin target of protein arginine methyltransferase, is a versatile regulator involved in gene-specific transcription and mRNA export. It binds competitively to arginine methyltransferases PRMT1 and PRMT5, promoting asymmetric or symmetric methylation of arginine residues respectively. Chtop is also a component of the TREX complex, which links transcription elongation to mRNA export [1,4].

Knocking down Chtop in chemoresistant epithelial ovarian cancer cells significantly enhanced cisplatin-induced apoptosis, reduced cell stemness, and decreased metastatic potential, suggesting it might be a promising target to overcome chemoresistance [2]. In microglia, knocking down Chtop decreased proinflammatory cytokine expression and altered cell metabolism, alleviating microglia-mediated neuroinflammation in a mouse model [3].

In conclusion, Chtop plays crucial roles in various biological processes such as gene expression regulation, mRNA export, and is associated with diseases like chemoresistant epithelial ovarian cancer and microglia-mediated neuroinflammation. Studies with Chtop knockdown models have provided insights into its functions in these disease-related processes, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target.