Targeting Cancer Cells with BET Bromodomain Inhibitors

Xu, Y., Vakoc, C. R. (July 2017) Targeting Cancer Cells with BET Bromodomain Inhibitors. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med, 7 (7). ISSN 2157-1422

URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28213432
DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a026674

Abstract

Cancer cells are often hypersensitive to the targeting of transcriptional regulators, which may reflect the deregulated gene expression programs that underlie malignant transformation. One of the most prominent transcriptional vulnerabilities in human cancer to emerge in recent years is the bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) family of proteins, which are coactivators that link acetylated transcription factors and histones to the activation of RNA polymerase II. Despite unclear mechanisms underlying the gene specificity of BET protein function, small molecules targeting these regulators preferentially suppress the transcription of cancer-promoting genes. As a consequence, BET inhibitors elicit anticancer activity in numerous malignant contexts at doses that can be tolerated by normal tissues, a finding supported by animal studies and by phase I clinical trials in human cancer patients. In this review, we will discuss the remarkable, and often perplexing, therapeutic effects of BET bromodomain inhibition in cancer.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: diseases & disorders > cancer
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > DNA, RNA structure, function, modification > transcription
bioinformatics > genomics and proteomics > genetics & nucleic acid processing > protein structure, function, modification > protein types > BET bromodomain coactivator protein
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Vakoc lab
CSHL Cancer Center Program > Cancer Genetics and Genomics Program
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: 5 July 2017
Date Deposited: 18 Aug 2017 14:26
Last Modified: 05 Nov 2020 19:06
PMCID: PMC5495050
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/35245

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