A Novel Epi-drug Therapy Based on the Suppression of BET Family Epigenetic Readers

Recent progress in epigenetic research has made a profound influence on pharmacoepigenomics, one of the fastest growing disciplines promising to provide new epi-drugs for the treatment of a broad range of diseases. Histone acetylation is among the most essential chromatin modifications underlying the dynamics of transcriptional activation. The acetylated genomic regions recruit the BET (bromodomain and extra-terminal) family of bromodomains (BRDs), thereby serving as a molecular scaffold in establishing RNA polymerase II specificity. Over the past several years, the BET epigenetic readers have become the main targets for drug therapy. The discovery of selective small-molecule compounds with capacity to inhibit BET proteins has paved a path for developing novel strategies against cancer, cardiovascular, skeletal, and inflammatory diseases. Therefore, further research into small chemicals impeding the regulatory activity of BRDs could offer therapeutic benefits for many health problems including tumor growth, heart disease, oral, and bone disorders.