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Protein--protein interactions (PPIs) in the nucleus play key roles in transcriptional regulation and ensure genomic stability. Critical to this are histone-mediated PPI networks, which are further fine-tuned through dynamic post-translational modification. Perturbation to these networks leads to genomic instability and disease, presenting epigenetic proteins as key therapeutic targets. This mini-review will describe progress in mapping the combinatorial histone PTM landscape, and recent chemical biology approaches to map histone interactors. Recent advances in mapping direct interactors of histone PTMs as well as local chromatin interactomes will be highlighted, with a focus on mass-spectrometry based workflows that continue to illuminate histone-mediated PPIs in unprecedented detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical probes are essential tools used to study and modulate biological systems. Here, we describe some of the recent scientific advancement in the field of chemical biology, as well as how the advent of new technologies is redefining the criteria of 'good' chemical probes and influencing the discovery of valuable drug leads. In this review, we report selected examples of the usage of linkered and linker-free chemical probes for target identification, biological discovery, and general mechanistic understanding. We also discuss the promises of chemogenomics libraries in phenotypic screens, as well as the limitation of their usage to identify the modulation of new targets and biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]