Patrycja Kopytko, Joanna Bujak, Sara Wawrzyniak, Marta Tkacz, Maciej Tarnowski, Małgorzata Pawlicka, Andrzej Pawlik

Wykorzystanie leków epigenetycznych w terapii chorób nowotworowych
2017-12-06

Wykorzystanie leków epigenetycznych w terapii chorób nowotworowych

Use of epigenetic drugs in the therapy of cancer

Epigenetics investigate stable heritable traits that do not change the DNA sequence. The epigenetic mechanisms regulate chromatin structure, gene expression, transposons mobility and DNA recombination and thereby it results in behavior and phenotype changes of the cell. Gene expression is mainly regulated by modification of histone proteins and DNA methylation. Epigenome disorders can contribute to the development of many pathological conditions. Incorrect methylation of the DNA strand or deacetylation of the histone protein along with genetic mutations and environmental factors can initiate the neoplasm process. An attractive target for the cancer therapy can be the use of epigenetic drugs that are able to reverse the resulting biochemical modifications. The most popular reverse biochemical modificators are the histone deacetylase inhibitors and DNA methyltransferase inhibitors. In our study we have analyzed the current state of knowledge in the field of the epigenetic therapy.

Keywords: epigenetic drugs, cancer, DNMTi, HDACi, HAT inhibitors

© Farm Pol, 2017, 73(11): 653-656