Circadian clock: Time for novel anticancer strategies?

Area of Science:

• Chronobiology
• Oncology
• Molecular Pharmacology

Background:

• Circadian clock disruption is linked to various human diseases, notably cancer.
• Aberrant clock gene expression in tumors may promote cancer cell survival, not just be a consequence of transcriptional changes.
• This suggests clock proteins could be therapeutic targets for cancer treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the role of druggable circadian nuclear receptors, REV-ERBα and REV-ERBβ, in cancer cell survival.
• To explore the development of small molecule modulators of REV-ERB as anticancer therapeutics.
• To discuss circadian rhythm-based synthetic lethal strategies for novel cancer treatments.

Main Methods:

• Literature review focusing on circadian nuclear receptors (REV-ERBα/β) and their function in cancer.
• Analysis of small molecule compounds targeting REV-ERB activity.
• Exploration of synthetic lethality principles applied to circadian rhythms in cancer.

Main Results:

• REV-ERBα and REV-ERBβ play significant roles in cancer cell survival.
• Small molecule modulators of REV-ERB show potential as novel anticancer agents.
• Circadian rhythm-based synthetic lethality presents a promising avenue for discovering new anticancer strategies.

Conclusions:

• Pharmacological modulation of clock proteins, particularly REV-ERBs, represents a viable anticancer strategy.
• Targeting the circadian clock offers a novel therapeutic approach to combat cancer.
• Further research into circadian rhythm-based synthetic lethality could uncover new anticancer treatments.