1 4582 145 N-TERMINAL BET BROMODOMAIN INHIBITORS DISRUPT A BRD4-P65 INTERACTION AND REDUCE INDUCIBLE NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE TRANSCRIPTION IN PANCREATIC BETA-CELLS. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION OF PANCREATIC ISLETS IS A KEY DRIVER OF BETA-CELL DAMAGE THAT CAN LEAD TO AUTOREACTIVITY AND THE EVENTUAL ONSET OF AUTOIMMUNE DIABETES (T1D). IN THE ISLET, ELEVATED LEVELS OF PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES INDUCE THE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE INDUCIBLE NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE (INOS) GENE, NOS2, ULTIMATELY RESULTING IN INCREASED NITRIC OXIDE (NO). EXCESSIVE OR PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO NO CAUSES BETA-CELL DYSFUNCTION AND FAILURE ASSOCIATED WITH DEFECTS IN MITOCHONDRIAL RESPIRATION. RECENT STUDIES SHOWED THAT INHIBITION OF THE BROMODOMAIN AND EXTRATERMINAL DOMAIN (BET) FAMILY OF PROTEINS, A DRUGGABLE CLASS OF EPIGENETIC READER PROTEINS, PREVENTS THE ONSET AND PROGRESSION OF T1D IN THE NON-OBESE DIABETIC MOUSE MODEL. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT BET PROTEINS CO-ACTIVATE TRANSCRIPTION OF CYTOKINE-INDUCED INFLAMMATORY GENE TARGETS IN BETA-CELLS AND THAT SELECTIVE, CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC INHIBITION OF BET BROMODOMAINS COULD REDUCE SUCH TRANSCRIPTION. HERE, WE INVESTIGATED THE ABILITY OF BET BROMODOMAIN SMALL MOLECULE INHIBITORS TO REDUCE THE BETA-CELL RESPONSE TO THE PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE INTERLEUKIN 1 BETA (IL-1BETA). BET BROMODOMAIN INHIBITION ATTENUATED IL-1BETA-INDUCED TRANSCRIPTION OF THE INFLAMMATORY MEDIATOR NOS2 AND CONSEQUENT INOS PROTEIN AND NO PRODUCTION. REDUCED NOS2 TRANSCRIPTION IS CONSISTENT WITH INHIBITION OF NF-KAPPAB FACILITATED BY DISRUPTING THE INTERACTION OF A SINGLE BET FAMILY MEMBER, BRD4, WITH THE NF-KAPPAB SUBUNIT, P65. USING RECENTLY REPORTED SELECTIVE INHIBITORS OF THE FIRST AND SECOND BET BROMODOMAINS, INHIBITION OF ONLY THE FIRST BROMODOMAIN WAS NECESSARY TO REDUCE THE INTERACTION OF BRD4 WITH P65 IN BETA-CELLS. MOREOVER, INHIBITION OF THE FIRST BROMODOMAIN WAS SUFFICIENT TO MITIGATE IL-1BETA-DRIVEN DECREASES IN MITOCHONDRIAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION RATES AND BETA-CELL VIABILITY. BY IDENTIFYING A ROLE FOR THE INTERACTION BETWEEN BRD4 AND P65 IN CONTROLLING THE RESPONSE OF BETA-CELLS TO PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES, WE PROVIDE MECHANISTIC INFORMATION ON HOW BET BROMODOMAIN INHIBITION CAN DECREASE INFLAMMATION. THESE STUDIES ALSO SUPPORT THE POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC APPLICATION OF MORE SELECTIVE BET BROMODOMAIN INHIBITORS IN ATTENUATING BETA-CELL INFLAMMATION. 2022 2 593 41 BET PROTEIN INHIBITION REGULATES CYTOKINE PRODUCTION AND PROMOTES NEUROPROTECTION AFTER SPINAL CORD INJURY. BACKGROUND: SPINAL CORD INJURY (SCI) USUALLY CAUSES A DEVASTATING LIFELONG DISABILITY FOR PATIENTS. AFTER A TRAUMATIC LESION, DISRUPTION OF THE BLOOD-SPINAL CORD BARRIER INDUCES THE INFILTRATION OF MACROPHAGES INTO THE LESION SITE AND THE ACTIVATION OF RESIDENT GLIAL CELLS, WHICH RELEASE CYTOKINES AND CHEMOKINES. THESE EVENTS RESULT IN A PERSISTENT INFLAMMATION, WHICH HAS BOTH DETRIMENTAL AND BENEFICIAL EFFECTS, BUT EVENTUALLY LIMITS FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY AND CONTRIBUTES TO THE APPEARANCE OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN. BROMODOMAIN AND EXTRA-TERMINAL DOMAIN (BET) PROTEINS ARE EPIGENETIC READERS THAT REGULATE THE EXPRESSION OF INFLAMMATORY GENES BY INTERACTING WITH ACETYLATED LYSINE RESIDUES. WHILE BET INHIBITORS ARE A PROMISING THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY FOR CANCER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THEIR IMPLICATION AFTER SCI. THUS, THE CURRENT STUDY WAS AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ROLE OF BET INHIBITORS IN THIS PATHOLOGIC CONDITION. METHODS: WE EVALUATED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BET INHIBITOR JQ1 TO MODIFY MACROPHAGE REACTIVITY IN VITRO AND TO MODULATE INFLAMMATION IN A SCI MICE MODEL. WE ANALYZED THE EFFECTS OF BET INHIBITION IN PRO-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE PRODUCTION IN VITRO AND IN VIVO. WE DETERMINED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BET INHIBITION IN TISSUE SPARING, INFLAMMATION, NEURONAL PROTECTION, AND BEHAVIORAL OUTCOME AFTER SCI. RESULTS: WE HAVE FOUND THAT THE BET INHIBITOR JQ1 REDUCED THE LEVELS OF PRO-INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS AND INCREASED THE EXPRESSION OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES. A PROLONGED TREATMENT WITH JQ1 ALSO DECREASED REACTIVITY OF MICROGLIA/MACROPHAGES, ENHANCED NEUROPROTECTION AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY, AND ACUTELY REDUCED NEUROPATHIC PAIN AFTER SCI. CONCLUSIONS: BET PROTEIN INHIBITION IS AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT TO REGULATE CYTOKINE PRODUCTION AND PROMOTE NEUROPROTECTION AFTER SCI. THESE NOVEL RESULTS DEMONSTRATE FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT TARGETING BET PROTEINS IS AN ENCOURAGING APPROACH FOR SCI REPAIR AND A POTENTIAL STRATEGY TO TREAT OTHER INFLAMMATORY PATHOLOGIES. 2019 3 1105 43 COMBINED INHIBITION OF HISTONE DEACETYLASES AND BET FAMILY PROTEINS AS EPIGENETIC THERAPY FOR NERVE INJURY-INDUCED NEUROPATHIC PAIN. CURRENT TREATMENTS FOR NEUROPATHIC PAIN HAVE OFTEN MODERATE EFFICACY AND PRESENT UNWANTED EFFECTS SHOWING THE NEED TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE THERAPIES. ACCUMULATING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT HISTONE ACETYLATION PLAYS ESSENTIAL ROLES IN CHRONIC PAIN AND THE ANALGESIC ACTIVITY OF HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS) INHIBITORS IS DOCUMENTED. BROMODOMAIN AND EXTRA-TERMINAL DOMAIN (BET) PROTEINS ARE EPIGENETIC READERS THAT INTERACT WITH ACETYLATED LYSINE RESIDUES ON HISTONES, BUT LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THEIR IMPLICATION IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN. THUS, THE CURRENT STUDY WAS AIMED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF THE COMBINATION OF HDAC AND BET INHIBITORS IN THE SPARED NERVE INJURY (SNI) MODEL IN MICE. INTRANASAL ADMINISTRATION OF I-BET762 (BET INHIBITOR) OR SAHA (HDAC INHIBITOR) ATTENUATED THERMAL AND MECHANICAL HYPERSENSITIVITY AND THIS ANTIALLODYNIC ACTIVITY WAS IMPROVED BY CO-ADMINISTRATION OF BOTH DRUGS. SPINAL CORD SECTIONS OF SNI MICE SHOWED AN INCREASED EXPRESSION OF HDAC1 AND BRD4 PROTEINS AND COMBINATION PRODUCED A STRONGER REDUCTION COMPARED TO EACH EPIGENETIC AGENT ALONE. SAHA AND I-BET762, ADMINISTERED ALONE OR IN COMBINATION, COUNTERACTED THE SNI-INDUCED MICROGLIA ACTIVATION BY INHIBITING THE EXPRESSION OF IBA1, CD11B, INDUCIBLE NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE (INOS), THE ACTIVATION OF NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB (NF-KAPPAB) AND SIGNAL TRANSDUCER AND ACTIVATOR OF TRANSCRIPTION-1 (STAT1) WITH COMPARABLE EFFICACY. CONVERSELY, THE EPIGENETIC INHIBITORS SHOWED A MODEST EFFECT ON SPINAL PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINES CONTENT THAT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY POTENTIATED BY THEIR COMBINATION. PRESENT RESULTS INDICATE A KEY ROLE OF ACETYLATED HISTONES AND THEIR RECRUITMENT BY BET PROTEINS ON MICROGLIA-MEDIATED SPINAL NEUROINFLAMMATION. TARGETING NEUROPATHIC PAIN WITH THE COMBINATION OF HDAC AND BET INHIBITORS MAY REPRESENT A PROMISING NEW THERAPEUTIC OPTION. 2021 4 5937 35 TARGETING HISTONE DEACETYLASE ACTIVITY IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AND ASTHMA AS PROTOTYPES OF INFLAMMATORY DISEASE: SHOULD WE KEEP OUR HATS ON? CELLULAR ACTIVATION, PROLIFERATION AND SURVIVAL IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES IS REGULATED NOT ONLY BY ENGAGEMENT OF SIGNAL TRANS-DUCTION PATHWAYS THAT MODULATE TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS REQUIRED FOR THESE PROCESSES, BUT ALSO BY EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR ACCESS TO GENE PROMOTER REGIONS. HISTONE ACETYL TRANSFERASES COORDINATE THE RECRUITMENT AND ACTIVATION OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS WITH CONFORMATIONAL CHANGES IN HISTONES THAT ALLOW GENE PROMOTER EXPOSURE. HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS) COUNTERACT HISTONE ACETYL TRANSFERASE ACTIVITY THROUGH THE TARGETING OF BOTH HISTONES AS WELL AS NONHISTONE SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION PROTEINS IMPORTANT IN INFLAMMATION. NUMEROUS STUDIES HAVE INDICATED THAT DEPRESSED HDAC ACTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY AIRWAY DISEASES MAY CONTRIBUTE TO LOCAL PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE PRODUCTION AND DIMINISH PATIENT RESPONSES TO CORTICOSTEROID TREATMENT. RECENT OBSERVATIONS THAT HDAC ACTIVITY IS DEPRESSED IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS PATIENT SYNOVIAL TISSUE HAVE PREDICTED THAT STRATEGIES RESTORING HDAC FUNCTION MAY BE THERAPEUTIC IN THIS DISEASE AS WELL. PHARMACOLOGICAL INHIBITORS OF HDAC ACTIVITY, HOWEVER, HAVE DEMONSTRATED POTENT THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS IN ANIMAL MODELS OF ARTHRITIS AND OTHER CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. IN THE PRESENT REVIEW WE ASSESS AND RECONCILE THESE OUTWARDLY PARADOXICAL STUDY RESULTS TO PROVIDE A WORKING MODEL FOR HOW ALTERATIONS IN HDAC ACTIVITY MAY CONTRIBUTE TO PATHOLOGY IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, AND HIGHLIGHT KEY QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED IN THE PRECLINICAL EVALUATION OF COMPOUNDS MODULATING THESE ENZYMES. 2008 5 594 35 BET PROTEIN INHIBITOR JQ1 MODULATES MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION AND OXIDATIVE STRESS INDUCED BY CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. AMONG THE MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE PROGRESSION OF KIDNEY DISEASE, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION HAS SPECIAL RELEVANCE. EPIGENETIC DRUGS SUCH AS INHIBITORS OF EXTRA-TERMINAL DOMAIN PROTEINS (IBET) HAVE SHOWN BENEFICIAL EFFECTS IN EXPERIMENTAL KIDNEY DISEASE, MAINLY BY INHIBITING PROLIFERATIVE AND INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES. THE IMPACT OF IBET ON MITOCHONDRIAL DAMAGE WAS EXPLORED IN IN VITRO STUDIES IN RENAL CELLS STIMULATED WITH TGF-BETA1 AND IN VIVO IN MURINE UNILATERAL URETERAL OBSTRUCTION (UUO) MODEL OF PROGRESSIVE KIDNEY DAMAGE. IN VITRO, JQ1 PRETREATMENT PREVENTED THE TGF-BETA1-INDUCED DOWNREGULATION OF COMPONENTS OF THE OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION CHAIN (OXPHOS), SUCH AS CYTOCHROME C AND CV-ATP5A IN HUMAN PROXIMAL TUBULAR CELLS. IN ADDITION, JQ1 ALSO PREVENTED THE ALTERED MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS BY AVOIDING THE INCREASE IN THE DRP-1 FISSION FACTOR. IN UUO MODEL, RENAL GENE EXPRESSION LEVELS OF CYTOCHROME C AND CV-ATP5A AS WELL AS PROTEIN LEVELS OF CYTOCHROME C WERE REDUCED THESE CHANGES WERE PREVENTED BY JQ1 ADMINISTRATION. IN ADDITION, JQ1 DECREASED PROTEIN LEVELS OF THE DRP1 FISSION PROTEIN AND INCREASED THE OPA-1 FUSION PROTEIN, RESTORING MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS. MITOCHONDRIA ALSO PARTICIPATE IN THE MAINTENANCE OF REDOX BALANCE. JQ1 RESTORED THE GENE EXPRESSION OF ANTIOXIDANT PROTEINS, SUCH AS CATALASE AND HEME OXYGENASE 1 IN TGF-BETA1-STIMULATED HUMAN PROXIMAL TUBULAR CELLS AND IN MURINE OBSTRUCTED KIDNEYS. INDEED, IN TUBULAR CELLS, JQ1 DECREASED ROS PRODUCTION INDUCED BY STIMULATION WITH TGF-BETA1, AS EVALUATED BY MITOSOXTM. IBETS, SUCH AS JQ1, IMPROVE MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS, FUNCTIONALITY, AND OXIDATIVE STRESS IN KIDNEY DISEASE. 2023 6 6138 26 THE ETIOLOGICAL CHANGES OF ACETYLATION IN PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURY-INDUCED NEUROPATHIC HYPERSENSITIVITY. NEUROPATHIC PAIN IS A COMMON CHRONIC PAIN CONDITION WITH MECHANISMS FAR CLEARLY BEEN ELUCIDATED. MOUNTING PRECLINICAL AND CLINICAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN NEUROPATHIC PAIN IS HIGHLY ASSOCIATED WITH HISTONE ACETYLATION MODIFICATION, WHICH FOLLOWS EXPRESSION REGULATION OF VARIOUS PAIN-RELATED MOLECULES SUCH AS MGLUR1/5, GLUTAMATE ASPARTATE TRANSPORTER, GLUTAMATE TRANSPORTER-1, GAD65, NA(V)1.8, KV4.3, MU-OPIOID RECEPTOR, BRAIN-DERIVED NEUROTROPHIC FACTOR, AND CERTAIN CHEMOKINES. AS TWO TYPES OF PIVOTAL ENZYMES INVOLVED IN HISTONE ACETYLATION, HISTONE DEACETYLASES INDUCE HISTONE DEACETYLATION TO SILENCE GENE EXPRESSION; IN CONTRAST, HISTONE ACETYL TRANSFERASES FACILITATE HISTONE ACETYLATION TO POTENTIATE GENE TRANSCRIPTION. ACCORDINGLY, UPREGULATION OR BLOCKADE OF ACETYLATION MAY BE A PROMISING INTERVENTION DIRECTION FOR NEUROPATHIC PAIN TREATMENT. IN FACT, NUMEROUS ANIMAL STUDIES HAVE SUGGESTED VARIOUS HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS, SIRT (CLASS III HISTONE DEACETYLASES) ACTIVATORS, AND HISTONE ACETYL TRANSFERASES INHIBITORS ARE EFFECTIVE IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN TREATMENT VIA TARGETING SPECIFIC EPIGENETIC SITES. IN THIS REVIEW, WE SUMMARIZE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MOLECULES AND MECHANISMS OF NEUROPATHY-RELATED ACETYLATION, AS WELL AS THE ACETYLATION UPREGULATION AND BLOCKADE FOR NEUROPATHIC PAIN THERAPY. FINALLY, WE WILL DISCUSS THE CURRENT DRUG ADVANCES FOCUSING ON NEUROPATHY-RELATED ACETYLATION ALONG WITH THE UNDERLYING TREATMENT MECHANISMS. 2018 7 3197 26 HDAC INHIBITORS: TARGETS FOR TUMOR THERAPY, IMMUNE MODULATION AND LUNG DISEASES. HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS) ARE ENZYMES THAT PLAY A KEY ROLE IN THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION BY REMODELING CHROMATIN. INHIBITION OF HDACS IS A PROSPECTIVE THERAPEUTIC APPROACH FOR REVERSING EPIGENETIC ALTERATION IN SEVERAL DISEASES. IN PRECLINICAL RESEARCH, NUMEROUS TYPES OF HDAC INHIBITORS WERE DISCOVERED TO EXHIBIT POWERFUL AND SELECTIVE ANTICANCER PROPERTIES. HOWEVER, SUCH RESEARCH HAS REVEALED THAT THE EFFECTS OF HDAC INHIBITORS MAY BE FAR BROADER AND MORE INTRICATE THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT. THIS REVIEW WILL PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE HDAC INHIBITORS AND THEIR MECHANISM OF ACTION WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HDAC INHIBITORS IN THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE AND LUNG CANCER. NANOCARRIER-MEDIATED HDAC INHIBITOR DELIVERY AND NEW APPROACHES FOR TARGETING HDACS ARE ALSO DISCUSSED. 2022 8 3319 28 HISTONE ACETYLATION AND HISTONE DEACETYLATION IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN: AN UNRESOLVED PUZZLE? CHRONIC PAIN IS BROADLY CLASSIFIED INTO SOMATIC, VISCERAL OR NEUROPATHIC PAIN DEPENDING UPON THE LOCATION AND EXTENT OF PAIN PERCEPTION. EVIDENCES FROM DIFFERENT ANIMAL STUDIES SUGGEST THAT INFLAMMATORY OR NEUROPATHIC PAIN IS ASSOCIATED WITH ALTERED ACETYLATION AND DEACETYLATION OF HISTONE PROTEINS, WHICH RESULT IN ABNORMAL TRANSCRIPTION OF NOCICEPTIVE PROCESSING GENES. THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF STUDIES INDICATING THAT NERVE INJURY UP-REGULATES HISTONE DEACETYLASE ENZYMES, WHICH LEADS TO INCREASED HISTONE DEACETYLATION AND INDUCE CHRONIC PAIN. TREATMENT WITH HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS RELIEVES PAIN BY NORMALIZING NERVE INJURY-INDUCED DOWN REGULATION OF METABOTROPIC GLUTAMATE RECEPTORS, GLUTAMATE TRANSPORTERS, GLUTAMIC ACID DECARBOXYLASE 65, NEURON RESTRICTIVE SILENCER FACTOR AND SERUM AND GLUCOCORTICOID INDUCIBLE KINASE 1. ON THE OTHER HAND, A FEW STUDIES REFER TO INCREASED EXPRESSION OF HISTONE ACETYLASE ENZYMES IN RESPONSE TO NERVE INJURY THAT PROMOTES HISTONE ACETYLATION LEADING TO PAIN INDUCTION. TREATMENT WITH HISTONE ACETYL TRANSFERASE INHIBITORS HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO RELIEVE CHRONIC PAIN BY BLOCKING THE UP-REGULATION OF CHEMOKINES AND CYCLOOXYGENASE-2, THE CRITICAL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH HISTONE ACETYLATION-INDUCED PAIN. THE PRESENT REVIEW DESCRIBES THE DUAL ROLE OF HISTONE ACETYLATION/DEACETYLATION IN DEVELOPMENT OR ATTENUATION OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN ALONG WITH THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS. 2017 9 4044 28 MACROPHAGES IN OXIDATIVE STRESS AND MODELS TO EVALUATE THE ANTIOXIDANT FUNCTION OF DIETARY NATURAL COMPOUNDS. ANTIOXIDANT TESTING OF NATURAL PRODUCTS HAS ATTRACTED INCREASING INTEREST IN RECENT YEARS, MAINLY DUE TO THE FACT THAT AN ANTIOXIDANT-RICH DIET MIGHT PROVIDE HEALTH BENEFITS. ACTIVATED MACROPHAGES ARE A MAJOR SOURCE OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES, REACTIVE NITROGEN SPECIES, AND PEROXYNITRITE GENERATED THROUGH THE SO-CALLED RESPIRATORY BURST. CONSTITUTIVELY RELEASED PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE, ESPECIALLY TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR-ALPHA, TRIGGERS NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB, AND ACTIVATOR PROTEIN-1 TRANSLOCATION LEADING TO THE OVER PRODUCTION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES AND REACTIVE NITROGEN SPECIES IN MACROPHAGES. ACTIVATION OF TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS IN THE LONG-LIVED TISSUE-RESIDENT MACROPHAGES AND/OR MONOCYTE-DERIVED MACROPHAGES, TRIGGER EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS LEADING TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF CHRONIC DISEASES. NUTRACEUTICALS INCLUDING LIPID RAFT STRUCTURE DISRUPTION AGENT, CHOLESTEROL DEPLETION AGENT, FARNESYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR, NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB BLOCKER (ALPHA,BETA-UNSATURATED CARBONYL COMPOUNDS), GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR AGONIST, AND PEROXISOME PROLIFERATOR-ACTIVATED RECEPTOR-GAMMA AGONIST HAVE LONG BEEN USED TO INACTIVE MACROPHAGE. THE INHIBITION EFFECTS ON THE FORMATION OF NITRIC OXIDE, SUPEROXIDE, AND NITRITE PEROXIDE MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY FUNCTIONALITIES. ACTIVATED MACROPHAGE MODELS COULD BE USED TO IDENTIFY THE ACTIVE COMPONENTS FOR FUNCTIONAL DIETS DEVELOPMENT THROUGH A MULTIPLE TARGETS STRATEGY. 2017 10 5489 27 REVERSING POST-INFECTIOUS EPIGENETIC-MEDIATED IMMUNE SUPPRESSION. THE IMMUNE RESPONSE MUST BALANCE THE PRO-INFLAMMATORY, CELL-MEDIATED CYTOTOXICITY WITH THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND WOUND REPAIR RESPONSE. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MEDIATE THIS BALANCE AND LIMIT HOST IMMUNITY FROM INDUCING EXUBERANT COLLATERAL DAMAGE TO HOST TISSUE AFTER SEVERE AND CHRONIC INFECTIONS. HOWEVER, FOLLOWING TREATMENT FOR THESE INFECTIONS, INCLUDING SEPSIS, PNEUMONIA, HEPATITIS B, HEPATITIS C, HIV, TUBERCULOSIS (TB) OR SCHISTOSOMIASIS, DETRIMENTAL EPIGENETIC SCARS PERSIST, AND RESULT IN LONG-LASTING IMMUNE SUPPRESSION. THIS IS HYPOTHESIZED TO BE ONE OF THE CONTRIBUTING MECHANISMS EXPLAINING WHY SURVIVORS OF INFECTION HAVE INCREASED ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY AND INCREASED RATES OF UNRELATED SECONDARY INFECTIONS. THE MECHANISMS THAT INDUCE EPIGENETIC-MEDIATED IMMUNE SUPPRESSION HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN-VITRO AND IN ANIMAL MODELS. MODULATION OF THE AMP-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE (AMPK)-MAMMALIAN TARGET OF RAPAMYCIN (MTOR), NUCLEAR FACTOR OF ACTIVATED T CELLS (NFAT) OR NUCLEAR RECEPTOR (NR4A) PATHWAYS IS ABLE TO BLOCK OR REVERSE THE DEVELOPMENT OF DETRIMENTAL EPIGENETIC SCARS. SIMILARLY, DRUGS THAT DIRECTLY MODIFY EPIGENETIC ENZYMES, SUCH AS THOSE THAT INHIBIT HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDAC) INHIBITORS, DNA HYPOMETHYLATING AGENTS OR MODIFIERS OF THE NUCLEOSOME REMODELING AND DNA METHYLATION (NURD) COMPLEX OR POLYCOMB REPRESSIVE COMPLEX (PRC) HAVE DEMONSTRATED CAPACITY TO RESTORE HOST IMMUNITY IN THE SETTING OF CANCER-, LCMV- OR MURINE SEPSIS-INDUCED EPIGENETIC-MEDIATED IMMUNE SUPPRESSION. A THIRD CLINICALLY FEASIBLE STRATEGY FOR REVERSING DETRIMENTAL EPIGENETIC SCARS INCLUDES BIOENGINEERING APPROACHES TO EITHER DIRECTLY REVERSE THE DETRIMENTAL EPIGENETIC MARKS OR TO MODIFY THE EPIGENETIC ENZYMES OR TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS THAT INDUCE DETRIMENTAL EPIGENETIC SCARS. EACH OF THESE APPROACHES, ALONE OR IN COMBINATION, HAVE ABLATED OR REVERSED DETRIMENTAL EPIGENETIC MARKS IN IN-VITRO OR IN ANIMAL MODELS; TRANSLATIONAL STUDIES ARE NOW REQUIRED TO EVALUATE CLINICAL APPLICABILITY. 2021 11 4149 26 MECHANISTIC INSIGHT INTO THE EFFECTS OF CURCUMIN ON NEUROINFLAMMATION-DRIVEN CHRONIC PAIN. CHRONIC PAIN IS A PERSISTENT AND UNREMITTING CONDITION THAT HAS IMMENSE EFFECTS ON PATIENTS' QUALITY OF LIFE. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT NEUROINFLAMMATION IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INDUCTION AND PROGRESSION OF CHRONIC PAIN. THE ACTIVATION OF MICROGLIA AND ASTROCYTES IS THE MAJOR HALLMARK OF SPINAL NEUROINFLAMMATION LEADING TO NEURONAL EXCITABILITY IN THE PROJECTION NEURONS. EXCESSIVE ACTIVATION OF MICROGLIA AND ASTROCYTES IS ONE OF THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO THE EXACERBATION OF PAIN. HOWEVER, THE CURRENT CHRONIC PAIN TREATMENTS, MAINLY BY TARGETING THE NEURONAL CELLS, REMAIN INEFFECTIVE AND UNABLE TO MEET THE PATIENTS' NEEDS. CURCUMIN, A NATURAL PLANT PRODUCT FOUND IN THE CURCUMA GENUS, IMPROVES CHRONIC PAIN BY DIMINISHING THE RELEASE OF INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS FROM THE SPINAL GLIA. THIS REVIEW DETAILS THE ROLE OF CURCUMIN IN MICROGLIA AND ASTROCYTES BOTH IN VITRO AND IN VIVO AND HOW IT IMPROVES PAIN. WE ALSO DESCRIBE THE MECHANISM OF CURCUMIN BY HIGHLIGHTING THE MAJOR GLIA-MEDIATED CASCADES IN PAIN. MOREOVER, THE ROLE OF CURCUMIN ON INFLAMMASOME AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION IS DISCUSSED. FURTHERMORE, WE DISCUSS THE STRATEGIES USED TO IMPROVE THE EFFICACY OF CURCUMIN. THIS REVIEW ILLUSTRATES THAT CURCUMIN MODULATING MICROGLIA AND ASTROCYTES COULD ASSURE THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PAIN BY SUPPRESSING SPINAL NEUROINFLAMMATION. 2021 12 2067 26 EPIGENETIC CONTROL OF MACROPHAGE SHAPE TRANSITION TOWARDS AN ATYPICAL ELONGATED PHENOTYPE BY HISTONE DEACETYLASE ACTIVITY. INFLAMMATORY CHRONIC PATHOLOGIES ARE COMPLEX PROCESSES CHARACTERIZED BY AN IMBALANCE BETWEEN THE RESOLUTION OF THE INFLAMMATORY PHASE AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TISSUE REPAIR. THE MAIN PLAYERS IN THESE INFLAMMATORY PATHOLOGIES ARE BONE MARROW DERIVED MONOCYTES (BMDMS). HOWEVER, HOW MONOCYTE DIFFERENTIATION IS MODULATED TO GIVE RISE TO SPECIFIC MACROPHAGE SUBPOPULATIONS (M1 OR M2) THAT MAY EITHER MAINTAIN THE CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY PROCESS OR LEAD TO WOUND HEALING IS STILL UNCLEAR. CONSIDERING THAT INHIBITORS OF HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) HAVE AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY ACTIVITY, WE ASKED WHETHER THIS ENZYME WOULD PLAY A ROLE ON MONOCYTE DIFFERENTIATION INTO M1 OR M2 PHENOTYPE AND IN THE CELL SHAPE TRANSITION THAT FOLLOWS. WE THEN INDUCED MURINE BONE MARROW PROGENITORS INTO MONOCYTE/MACROPHAGE DIFFERENTIATION PATHWAY USING MEDIA CONTAINING GM-CSF AND THE HDAC BLOCKER, TRICHOSTATIN A (TSA). WE FOUND THAT THE PHARMACOLOGICAL INHIBITION OF HDAC ACTIVITY LED TO A SHAPE TRANSITION FROM THE TYPICAL MACROPHAGE PANCAKE-LIKE SHAPE INTO AN ELONGATED MORPHOLOGY, WHICH WAS CORRELATED TO A MIXED M1/M2 PROFILE OF CYTOKINE AND CHEMOKINE SECRETION. OUR RESULTS PRESENT, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THAT HDAC ACTIVITY ACTS AS A REGULATOR OF MACROPHAGE DIFFERENTIATION IN THE ABSENCE OF LYMPHOCYTE STIMULI. WE PROPOSE THAT HDAC ACTIVITY DOWN REGULATES MACROPHAGE PLASTICITY FAVORING THE PRO-INFLAMMATORY PHENOTYPE. 2015 13 697 41 BROMODOMAIN AND EXTRATERMINAL PROTEINS AS NOVEL EPIGENETIC TARGETS FOR RENAL DISEASES. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, ESPECIALLY DNA METHYLATION AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS, ARE DYNAMIC PROCESSES THAT REGULATE THE GENE EXPRESSION TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROGRAM IN NORMAL AND DISEASED STATES. THE BROMODOMAIN AND EXTRATERMINAL (BET) PROTEIN FAMILY (BRD2, BRD3, BRD4, AND BRDT) ARE EPIGENETIC READERS THAT, VIA BROMODOMAINS, REGULATE GENE TRANSCRIPTION BY BINDING TO ACETYLATED LYSINE RESIDUES ON HISTONES AND MASTER TRANSCRIPTIONAL FACTORS. EXPERIMENTAL DATA HAVE DEMONSTRATED THE INVOLVEMENT OF SOME BET PROTEINS IN MANY PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING TUMOR DEVELOPMENT, INFECTIONS, AUTOIMMUNITY, AND INFLAMMATION. SELECTIVE BROMODOMAIN INHIBITORS ARE EPIGENETIC DRUGS THAT BLOCK THE INTERACTION BETWEEN BET PROTEINS AND ACETYLATED PROTEINS, THUS EXERTING BENEFICIAL EFFECTS. RECENT DATA HAVE DESCRIBED THE BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF BET INHIBITION ON EXPERIMENTAL RENAL DISEASES. EMERGING EVIDENCE UNDERSCORES THE IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFICATIONS IN THE ORIGIN OF PATHOLOGICAL FEATURES IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASES (CKD). SEVERAL CELLULAR PROCESSES SUCH AS OXIDATION, METABOLIC DISORDERS, CYTOKINES, INFLAMMATION, OR ACCUMULATED UREMIC TOXINS MAY INDUCE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS THAT REGULATE KEY PROCESSES INVOLVED IN RENAL DAMAGE AND IN OTHER PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS OBSERVED IN CKD PATIENTS. HERE, WE REVIEW HOW TARGETING BROMODOMAINS IN BET PROTEINS MAY REGULATE ESSENTIAL PROCESSES INVOLVED IN RENAL DISEASES AND IN ASSOCIATED COMPLICATIONS FOUND IN CKD PATIENTS, SUCH AS CARDIOVASCULAR DAMAGE, HIGHLIGHTING THE POTENTIAL OF EPIGENETIC THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES AGAINST BET PROTEINS FOR CKD TREATMENT AND ASSOCIATED RISKS. 2019 14 3207 30 HDACI: CELLULAR EFFECTS, OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY. ACETYLATION OF HISTONE AND NON-HISTONE PROTEINS ALTERS GENE EXPRESSION AND INDUCES A HOST OF CELLULAR EFFECTS. THE ACETYLATION PROCESS IS HOMEOSTATICALLY BALANCED BY TWO GROUPS OF CELLULAR ENZYMES, HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASES (HATS) AND HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS). HAT ACTIVITY RELAXES THE STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN CHROMATIN, RENDERING IT TRANSCRIPTIONALLY ACTIVE, THEREBY INCREASING GENE EXPRESSION. IN CONTRAST, HDAC ACTIVITY LEADS TO GENE SILENCING. THE ENZYMATIC BALANCE CAN BE 'TIPPED' BY HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITORS (HDACI), LEADING TO AN ACCUMULATION OF ACETYLATED PROTEINS, WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY MODIFY CELLULAR PROCESSES INCLUDING STEM CELL DIFFERENTIATION, CELL CYCLE, APOPTOSIS, GENE EXPRESSION, AND ANGIOGENESIS. THERE IS A VARIETY OF NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC HDACI AVAILABLE, AND THEIR PLEIOTROPIC EFFECTS HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO DIVERSE CLINICAL APPLICATIONS, NOT ONLY IN CANCER BUT ALSO IN NON-CANCER AREAS, SUCH AS CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE, BONE ENGINEERING, AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE. INDEED, IT APPEARS THAT HDACI-MODULATED EFFECTS MAY DIFFER BETWEEN 'NORMAL' AND TRANSFORMED CELLS, PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES ACCUMULATION, APOPTOSIS, PROLIFERATION, AND CELL CYCLE ARREST. THE POTENTIAL BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF HDACI FOR HEALTH, RESULTING FROM THEIR ABILITY TO REGULATE GLOBAL GENE EXPRESSION BY EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION OF DNA-ASSOCIATED PROTEINS, ALSO OFFER POTENTIAL FOR APPLICATION WITHIN RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY, WHERE THEY MAY PROMOTE DENTAL TISSUE REGENERATION FOLLOWING PULPAL DAMAGE. 2011 15 6687 26 VALIDATION OF THE EPIGENETIC READER BROMODOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN 4 (BRD4) AS A THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR TREATMENT OF AIRWAY REMODELING. STRUCTURAL REMODELING IS CENTRAL TO THE INITIATION AND PROGRESSION OF MANY CHRONIC LUNG DISEASES, REPRESENTING AN IMPORTANT UNMET NEED. WE EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE SUPPORTING BROMODOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN 4 (BRD4) AS A VALIDATED BIOLOGICAL TARGET FOR TREATMENT OF AIRWAY REMODELING. IN EPITHELIAL CELLS AND FIBROBLASTS, BRD4 SERVES AS A SCAFFOLD FOR CHROMATIN REMODELING COMPLEXES IN ACTIVE SUPER-ENHANCERS. IN RESPONSE TO INFLAMMATORY STIMULI, BRD4 IS REPOSITIONED TO INNATE AND MESENCHYMAL GENES ACTIVATING THEIR PRODUCTION. PROOF-OF-CONCEPT STUDIES SHOW PROMISING BENEFIT OF SELECTIVE BRD4 INHIBITORS IN DISRUPTING EPITHELIAL MESENCHYMAL TRANSITION AND MYOFIBROBLAST TRANSITION IN DIVERSE MODELS OF LUNG INJURY. RECENT IDENTIFICATION OF BIOMARKERS OF BRD4 PROVIDES A BASIS FOR FURTHER DRUG DEVELOPMENT FOR APPLICATION IN VIRAL-INDUCED AIRWAY INFLAMMATION, COPD AND INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASES. 2020 16 5720 22 SIRTUINS LINK INFLAMMATION AND METABOLISM. SIRTUINS (SIRT), FIRST DISCOVERED IN YEAST AS NAD+ DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC AND METABOLIC REGULATORS, HAVE COMPARABLE ACTIVITIES IN HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY AND DISEASE. MOUNTING EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THAT THE SEVEN-MEMBER MAMMALIAN SIRTUIN FAMILY (SIRT1-7) GUARD HOMEOSTASIS BY SENSING BIOENERGY NEEDS AND RESPONDING BY MAKING ALTERATIONS IN THE CELL NUTRIENTS. SIRTUINS PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN RESTORING HOMEOSTASIS DURING STRESS RESPONSES. INFLAMMATION IS DESIGNED TO "DEFEND AND MEND" AGAINST THE INVADING ORGANISMS. EMERGING EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THAT METABOLISM AND BIOENERGY REPROGRAMMING DIRECT THE SEQUENTIAL COURSE OF INFLAMMATION; FAILURE OF HOMEOSTASIS RETRIEVAL RESULTS IN MANY CHRONIC AND ACUTE INFLAMMATORY DISEASES. ANABOLIC GLYCOLYSIS QUICKLY INDUCED (COMPARED TO OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION) FOR ROS AND ATP GENERATION IS NEEDED FOR IMMUNE ACTIVATION TO "DEFEND" AGAINST INVADING MICROORGANISMS. LIPOLYSIS/FATTY ACID OXIDATION, ESSENTIAL FOR CELLULAR PROTECTION/HIBERNATION AND CELL SURVIVAL IN ORDER TO "MEND," LEADS TO IMMUNE REPRESSION. ACUTE/CHRONIC INFLAMMATIONS ARE LINKED TO ALTERED GLYCOLYSIS AND FATTY ACID OXIDATION, AT LEAST IN PART, BY NAD+ DEPENDENT FUNCTION OF SIRTUINS. THERAPEUTICALLY TARGETING SIRTUINS MAY PROVIDE A NEW CLASS OF INFLAMMATION AND IMMUNE REGULATORS. THIS REVIEW DISCUSSES HOW SIRTUINS INTEGRATE METABOLISM, BIOENERGETICS, AND IMMUNITY DURING INFLAMMATION AND HOW SIRTUIN-DIRECTED TREATMENT IMPROVES OUTCOME IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASES AND IN THE EXTREME STRESS RESPONSE OF SEPSIS. 2016 17 3721 32 INHIBITION OF CLASS II HISTONE DEACETYLASES IN THE SPINAL CORD ATTENUATES INFLAMMATORY HYPERALGESIA. BACKGROUND: SEVERAL CLASSES OF HISTONE DEACETYLASES (HDACS) ARE EXPRESSED IN THE SPINAL CORD THAT IS A CRITICAL STRUCTURE OF THE NOCICEPTIVE PATHWAY. HDAC-REGULATED HISTONE ACETYLATION IS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF CHROMATIN REMODELING LEADING TO EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE TRANSCRIPTION. TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF HISTONE ACETYLATION IN EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF PATHOLOGICAL PAIN, WE HAVE STUDIED THE IMPACT OF DIFFERENT CLASSES OF HDACS IN THE SPINAL CORD ON INFLAMMATORY HYPERALGESIA INDUCED BY COMPLETE FREUND'S ADJUVANT (CFA). RESULTS: WE INTRATHECALLY APPLIED INHIBITORS SPECIFIC TO DIFFERENT CLASSES OF HDACS AND EVALUATED THEIR IMPACT ON INFLAMMATORY HYPERALGESIA. PRE-INJECTED INHIBITORS TARGETING CLASS I AS WELL AS II (SAHA, TSA, LAQ824) OR IIA (VPA, 4-PB) HDACS SIGNIFICANTLY DELAYED THE THERMAL HYPERALGESIA INDUCED BY UNILATERAL CFA INJECTION IN THE HINDPAW. EXISTING HYPERALGESIA INDUCED BY CFA WAS ALSO ATTENUATED BY THE HDAC INHIBITORS (HDACIS). IN CONTRAST, THESE INHIBITORS DID NOT INTERFERE WITH THE THERMAL RESPONSE EITHER IN NAIVE ANIMALS, OR ON THE CONTRALATERAL SIDE OF INFLAMED ANIMALS. INTERESTINGLY, MS-275 THAT SPECIFICALLY INHIBITS CLASS I HDACS FAILED TO ALTER THE HYPERALGESIA ALTHOUGH IT INCREASED HISTONE 3 ACETYLATION IN THE SPINAL CORD AS SAHA DID. USING IMMUNOBLOT ANALYSIS, WE FURTHER FOUND THAT THE LEVELS OF CLASS IIA HDAC MEMBERS (HDAC4, 5, 7, 9) IN THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN WERE UPREGULATED FOLLOWING CFA INJECTION WHILE THOSE OF CLASS I HDAC MEMBERS (HDAC1, 2, 3) REMAINED STABLE OR WERE SLIGHTLY REDUCED. CONCLUSIONS: OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT ACTIVITY OF CLASS II HDACS IN THE SPINAL CORD IS CRITICAL TO THE INDUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF INFLAMMATORY HYPERALGESIA INDUCED BY CFA, WHILE ACTIVITY OF CLASS I HDACS MAY BE UNNECESSARY. COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF HDACIS SPECIFIC TO CLASS II AND IIA AS WELL AS THE EXPRESSION PATTERN OF DIFFERENT HDACS IN THE SPINAL CORD IN RESPONSE TO CFA SUGGESTS THAT THE MEMBERS OF CLASS IIA HDACS MAY BE POTENTIAL TARGETS FOR ATTENUATING PERSISTENT INFLAMMATORY PAIN. 2010 18 689 39 BRD4 AS A THERAPEUTIC TARGET IN PULMONARY DISEASES. BROMODOMAIN AND EXTRA-TERMINAL DOMAIN (BET) PROTEINS ARE EPIGENETIC MODULATORS THAT REGULATE GENE TRANSCRIPTION THROUGH INTERACTING WITH ACETYLATED LYSINE RESIDUES OF HISTONE PROTEINS. BET PROTEINS HAVE MULTIPLE ROLES IN REGULATING KEY CELLULAR FUNCTIONS SUCH AS CELL PROLIFERATION, DIFFERENTIATION, INFLAMMATION, OXIDATIVE AND REDOX BALANCE, AND IMMUNE RESPONSES. AS A RESULT, BET PROTEINS HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN A BROAD RANGE OF HUMAN LUNG DISEASES INCLUDING ACUTE LUNG INFLAMMATION, ASTHMA, PULMONARY ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION, PULMONARY FIBROSIS, AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD). DUE TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIFIC SMALL MOLECULAR INHIBITORS OF BET PROTEINS, TARGETING BET IN THESE LUNG DISEASES HAS BECOME AN AREA OF INCREASING INTEREST. EMERGING EVIDENCE HAS DEMONSTRATED THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF BET INHIBITORS IN PRECLINICAL MODELS OF VARIOUS HUMAN LUNG DISEASES. THIS IS, IN GENERAL, LARGELY RELATED TO THE ABILITY OF BET PROTEINS TO BIND TO PROMOTERS OF GENES THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR INFLAMMATION, DIFFERENTIATION, AND BEYOND. BY MODULATING THESE CRITICAL GENES, BET PROTEINS ARE INTEGRATED INTO THE PATHOGENESIS OF DISEASE PROGRESSION. THE INTRINSIC HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE ACTIVITY OF BROMODOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN 4 (BRD4) IS OF PARTICULAR INTEREST, SEEMS TO ACT INDEPENDENTLY OF ITS BROMODOMAIN BINDING ACTIVITY, AND HAS IMPLICATION IN SOME CONTEXTS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE PROVIDE A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH ON BET PROTEINS WITH A FOCUS ON BRD4 IN SEVERAL MAJOR HUMAN LUNG DISEASES, THE UNDERLYING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS, AS WELL AS FINDINGS OF TARGETING BET PROTEINS USING PHARMACEUTICAL INHIBITORS IN DIFFERENT LUNG DISEASES PRECLINICALLY. 2023 19 1945 33 EPIGALLOCATECHIN-3-GALLATE, A HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR, INHIBITS EBV-INDUCED B LYMPHOCYTE TRANSFORMATION VIA SUPPRESSION OF RELA ACETYLATION. BECAUSE THE P300/CBP-MEDIATED HYPERACETYLATION OF RELA (P65) IS CRITICAL FOR NUCLEAR FACTOR-KAPPAB (NF-KAPPAB) ACTIVATION, THE ATTENUATION OF P65 ACETYLATION IS A POTENTIAL MOLECULAR TARGET FOR THE PREVENTION OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. DURING OUR ONGOING SCREENING STUDY TO IDENTIFY NATURAL COMPOUNDS WITH HISTONE ACETYLTRANSFERASE INHIBITOR (HATI) ACTIVITY, WE IDENTIFIED EPIGALLOCATECHIN-3-GALLATE (EGCG) AS A NOVEL HATI WITH GLOBAL SPECIFICITY FOR THE MAJORITY OF HAT ENZYMES BUT WITH NO ACTIVITY TOWARD EPIGENETIC ENZYMES INCLUDING HDAC, SIRT1, AND HMTASE. AT A DOSE OF 100 MICROMOL/L, EGCG ABROGATES P300-INDUCED P65 ACETYLATION IN VITRO AND IN VIVO, INCREASES THE LEVEL OF CYTOSOLIC IKAPPABALPHA, AND SUPPRESSES TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR ALPHA (TNFALPHA)-INDUCED NF-KAPPAB ACTIVATION. WE ALSO SHOWED THAT EGCG PREVENTS TNFALPHA-INDUCED P65 TRANSLOCATION TO THE NUCLEUS, CONFIRMING THAT HYPERACETYLATION IS CRITICAL FOR NF-KAPPAB TRANSLOCATION AS WELL AS ACTIVITY. FURTHERMORE, EGCG TREATMENT INHIBITED THE ACETYLATION OF P65 AND THE EXPRESSION OF NF-KAPPAB TARGET GENES IN RESPONSE TO DIVERSE STIMULI. FINALLY, EGCG REDUCED THE BINDING OF P300 TO THE PROMOTER REGION OF INTERLEUKIN-6 GENE WITH AN INCREASED RECRUITMENT OF HDAC3, WHICH HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BALANCE BETWEEN HATS AND HISTONE DEACETYLASES IN THE NF-KAPPAB-MEDIATED INFLAMMATORY SIGNALING PATHWAY. IMPORTANTLY, EGCG AT 50 MICROMOL/L DOSE COMPLETELY BLOCKS EBV INFECTION-INDUCED CYTOKINE EXPRESSION AND SUBSEQUENTLY THE EBV-INDUCED B LYMPHOCYTE TRANSFORMATION. THESE RESULTS SHOW THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF ACETYLATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFLAMMATORY-RELATED DISEASES. 2009 20 5939 40 TARGETING MECHANOTRANSDUCTION AT THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL LEVEL: YAP AND BRD4 ARE NOVEL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS FOR THE REVERSAL OF LIVER FIBROSIS. LIVER FIBROSIS IS THE RESULT OF A DEREGULATED WOUND HEALING PROCESS CHARACTERIZED BY THE EXCESSIVE DEPOSITION OF EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX. HEPATIC STELLATE CELLS (HSCS), WHICH ARE ACTIVATED IN RESPONSE TO LIVER INJURY, ARE THE MAJOR SOURCE OF EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX AND DRIVE THE WOUND HEALING PROCESS. HOWEVER, CHRONIC LIVER DAMAGE LEADS TO PERPETUAL HSC ACTIVATION, PROGRESSIVE FORMATION OF PATHOLOGICAL SCAR TISSUE AND ULTIMATELY, CIRRHOSIS AND ORGAN FAILURE. HSC ACTIVATION IS TRIGGERED LARGELY IN RESPONSE TO MECHANOSIGNALING FROM THE MICROENVIRONMENT, WHICH INDUCES A PROFIBROTIC NUCLEAR TRANSCRIPTION PROGRAM THAT PROMOTES HSC PROLIFERATION AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX SECRETION THEREBY SETTING UP A POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOP LEADING TO MATRIX STIFFENING AND SELF-SUSTAINED, PATHOLOGICAL, HSC ACTIVATION. DESPITE THE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF LIVER FIBROSIS, THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS THROUGH WHICH THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX PROMOTES HSC ACTIVATION ARE NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD AND NO EFFECTIVE THERAPIES HAVE BEEN APPROVED TO DATE THAT CAN TARGET THIS EARLY, REVERSIBLE, STAGE IN LIVER FIBROSIS. SEVERAL NEW LINES OF INVESTIGATION NOW PROVIDE IMPORTANT INSIGHT INTO THIS AREA OF STUDY AND IDENTIFY TWO NUCLEAR TARGETS WHOSE INHIBITION HAS THE POTENTIAL OF REVERSING LIVER FIBROSIS BY INTERFERING WITH HSC ACTIVATION: YES-ASSOCIATED PROTEIN (YAP), A TRANSCRIPTIONAL CO-ACTIVATOR AND EFFECTOR OF THE MECHANOSENSITIVE HIPPO PATHWAY, AND BROMODOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN 4 (BRD4), AN EPIGENETIC REGULATOR OF GENE EXPRESSION. YAP AND BRD4 ACTIVITY IS INDUCED IN RESPONSE TO MECHANICAL STIMULATION OF HSCS AND EACH PROTEIN INDEPENDENTLY CONTROLS WAVES OF EARLY GENE EXPRESSION NECESSARY FOR HSC ACTIVATION. SIGNIFICANTLY, INHIBITION OF EITHER PROTEIN CAN REVERT THE CHRONIC ACTIVATION OF HSCS AND IMPEDE PATHOLOGICAL PROGRESSION OF LIVER FIBROSIS IN CLINICALLY RELEVANT MODEL SYSTEMS. IN THIS REVIEW WE WILL DISCUSS THE ROLES OF THESE NUCLEAR CO-ACTIVATORS IN HSC ACTIVATION, THEIR MECHANISM OF ACTION IN THE FIBROTIC PROCESS IN THE LIVER AND OTHER ORGANS, AND THE POTENTIAL OF TARGETING THEIR ACTIVITY WITH SMALL MOLECULE DRUGS FOR FIBROSIS REVERSAL. 2016