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Title: BET N-terminal bromodomain inhibition selectively blocks Th17 cell differentiation and ameliorates colitis in mice

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

T-helper 17 (Th17) cells have important functions in adaptor immunity and have also been implicated in inflammatory disorders. The bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) family proteins regulate gene transcription during lineage-specific differentiation of naïve CD4+T cells to produce mature T-helper cells. Inhibition of acetyl-lysine binding of the BET proteins by pan-BET bromodomain (BrD) inhibitors, such as JQ1, broadly affects differentiation of Th17, Th1, and Th2 cells that have distinct immune functions, thus limiting their therapeutic potential. Whether these BET proteins represent viable new epigenetic drug targets for inflammatory disorders has remained an unanswered question. In this study, we report that selective inhibition of the first bromodomain of BET proteins with our newly designed small molecule MS402 inhibits primarily Th17 cell differentiation with a little or almost no effect on Th1 or Th2 and Treg cells. MS402 preferentially renders Brd4 binding to Th17 signature gene loci over those of housekeeping genes and reduces Brd4 recruitment of p-TEFb to phosphorylate and activate RNA polymerase II for transcription elongation. Furthermore, we show that MS402 prevents and ameliorates T-cell transfer-induced colitis in mice by blocking Th17 cell overdevelopment. Thus, selective pharmacological modulation of individual bromodomains likely represents a strategy for treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); First Hospital of Jilin University; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0012704; 81601409
OSTI ID:
1409528
Report Number(s):
BNL-114580-2017-JA
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 114, Issue 11; ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 69 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (10)

Optimization of a “bump-and-hole” approach to allele-selective BET bromodomain inhibition journal January 2018
BET proteins in abnormal metabolism, inflammation, and the breast cancer microenvironment journal March 2018
Bromodomain biology and drug discovery journal October 2019
Molecular structures guide the engineering of chromatin journal June 2017
Epigenetic Modification Mechanisms Involved in Inflammation and Fibrosis in Renal Pathology journal December 2018
Computational study on the selective inhibition mechanism of MS402 to the first and second bromodomains of BRD4 journal November 2018
Bromodomain and Extraterminal Proteins as Novel Epigenetic Targets for Renal Diseases journal November 2019
In silico design and molecular basis for the selectivity of Olinone toward the first over the second bromodomain of BRD4 journal October 2019
Bromodomains: a new target class for drug development journal July 2019
Immunotherapy With Human Gamma Delta T Cells—Synergistic Potential of Epigenetic Drugs? journal March 2018

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