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Super-enhancers in cancer

Palaniraja Thandapani1

  • 1Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA.

Pharmacology & Therapeutics
|March 20, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Cancer cells rely on super-enhancers for survival. Targeting these critical transcriptional drivers offers a promising new therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cancer Genetics
  • Epigenetics

Background:

  • Cancer development involves aberrant oncogenic and tumor suppressive pathways.
  • Transcriptional dysregulation, driven by genetic and epigenetic alterations, is central to cancer genesis and progression.
  • Super-enhancers, large clusters of enhancers, are crucial for maintaining cancer cell identity and driving oncogenic transcription.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current understanding of super-enhancer assembly and activation in cancer.
  • To explore mechanisms by which cancer cells acquire oncogenic super-enhancers.
  • To discuss the therapeutic potential of targeting super-enhancers.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of current research on super-enhancers in cancer.
  • Analysis of genetic and epigenetic alterations affecting transcriptional regulation.
  • Examination of pre-clinical data on super-enhancer inhibitor efficacy.

Main Results:

  • Cancer cells exhibit addiction to super-enhancer driven transcriptional programs.
  • Pharmacological inhibitors targeting super-enhancer components show promise in reducing tumor growth.
  • Super-enhancers are essential oncogenic drivers critical for cancer cell maintenance.

Conclusions:

  • Super-enhancers play a pivotal role in cancer by driving essential transcriptional programs.
  • Targeting super-enhancer assembly and activation presents a viable therapeutic avenue.
  • Further research into targeting oncogenic super-enhancers could lead to novel cancer treatments.
Keywords:
3D chromatin architectureCancerEnhancer hijackingGenetic variantsSuper-enhancersTranscriptional inhibitors

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