Inhibition of BET bromodomain-promoter interactions and subsequent reduction of MYC transcript and protein levels resulted in G(1) arrest and extensive apoptosis in a variety of leukemia and lymphoma cell lines.
The bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) protein BRD4 is a validated drug target in leukemia, yet its regulatory function in this disease is not well understood.
BET proteins enhance the oncogenic functions of major cancer drivers by elevating the expression of these drivers, such as c-Myc in leukemia, or by promoting the transcriptional activities of oncogenic factors, such as AR and ERG in prostate cancer.
Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition of both the MAPK pathway and BET bromodomain prevented leukemia initiation and inhibited disease progression in Asxl1Δ/Δ Nf1Δ/Δ mice.