Regulation of cancer epigenomes with a histone-binding synthetic transcription factor

Abstract

Cancer: Engineered protein switches on silenced genes An engineered protein that manipulates DNA-protein packaging in cancer cells could offer a powerful new approach to treating tumors. Karmella Haynes and colleagues from Arizona State University in Tempe, USA, designed a protein that can recognize chemical tags on DNA-wound chromatin structures where gene activity is being silenced and then reactivate those epigenetically repressed genes. In previous work, Haynes’ team showed how this “Polycomb-based transcription factor” could stimulate gene expression at two silenced genes in one cancer cell line. Now, working in three different cancer cell types, the researchers demonstrate that treatment with this engineered protein increases the expression levels of many genes across the genome involved in developmental regulation and tumor suppression. If the engineered protein works specifically in cancer cells, while leaving healthy tissue alone, it could prove beneficial for patients.