BET bromodomain proteins and epigenetic regulation of inflammation: implications for type 2 diabetes and breast cancer

Dequina A. Nicholas, Guillaume Andrieu, Katherine J. Strissel, Barbara S. Nikolajczyk, Gerald V. Denis

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Chronic inflammation drives pathologies associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and breast cancer. Obesity-driven inflammation may explain increased risk and mortality of breast cancer with T2D reported in the epidemiology literature. Therapeutic approaches to target inflammation in both T2D and cancer have so far fallen short of the expected improvements in disease pathogenesis or outcomes. The targeting of epigenetic regulators of cytokine transcription and cytokine signaling offers one promising, untapped approach to treating diseases driven by inflammation. Recent work has deeply implicated the Bromodomain and Extra-Terminal domain (BET) proteins, which are acetylated histone “readers”, in epigenetic regulation of inflammation. This review focuses on inflammation associated with T2D and breast cancer, and the possibility of targeting BET proteins as an approach to regulating inflammation in the clinic. Understanding inflammation in the context of BET protein regulation may provide a basis for designing promising therapeutics for T2D and breast cancer.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)231-243
Number of pages13
JournalCellular and Molecular Life Sciences
Volume74
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 4 2016

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer International Publishing.

Keywords

  • Chromatin reader
  • Metabolism

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Medicine
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pharmacology
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
  • Cell Biology

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