Super-enhancer function and its application in cancer targeted therapy

Faqing Tang; Zongbei Yang; Yuan Tan; Yuejin Li

doi:10.1038/s41698-020-0108-z

Super-enhancer function and its application in cancer targeted therapy

NPJ Precis Oncol. 2020 Feb 12:4:2. doi: 10.1038/s41698-020-0108-z. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Faqing Tang^#¹, Zongbei Yang^#², Yuan Tan¹, Yuejin Li¹

Affiliations

¹ 1Department of Clinical Laboratory, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, 410013 Changsha, China.
² 2Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zhuhai People's Hospital & Zhuhai Hospital of Jinan University, 519000 Zhuhai, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Recently, super-enhancers (SEs) have been identified as a unique type of transcriptional regulation involved in cancer development. SEs exhibit a size, high transcription factor density, and strong binding to the transcriptional machinery compared with typical enhancers. SEs play an essential role in cell growth, differentiation, and disease initiation and progression including tumorigenesis. In particular, cancer-specific SEs have been proven to be key oncogenic drivers types of tumor cells. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that cancer-specific SEs can mediate the dysregulation of signaling pathways and promote cancer cell growth. Additionally, therapeutic strategies directly targeting SE components, for example, by disrupting SE structure or inhibiting SE cofactors, have shown a good curative effect on various cancers.

Keywords: Cancer; Molecular medicine; Targeted therapies.

Publication types

Review