Recent Advances in Structural Aspects of Small Molecules as Epigenetic Inhibitors in Cancer Therapeutics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54060/a2zjournals.jase.98Keywords:
Epigenetics, Small molecules, Cancer, DNA Methyltransferase Inhibitors, HistoneAbstract
Cancer is a non-contagious disease whose treatment poses considerable difficulty for the worldwide healthcare system, even though numerous pharmacological and therapeutic advancements have been achieved. Although cancer rates are going up, survival rates have also improved in many cases, largely thanks to better and more specific drugs. These new drugs target specific changes in tumors, which are identified molecular testing. These changes can be in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence, or in the ‘epigenetics’, which does not change the DNA sequence. Importantly epigenetic changes can be reversed, unlike DNA changes. Different types of epigenetic enzymes which target corresponding protein domains, emphasize DNA methylation, histone modifications, and microRNA-mediated cooperation with epi-genetic modification, and highlight recent achievements in developing targets for epigenetic inhibitor therapy. This article reviews current anticancer small-molecule inhibitors targeting epigenetic modified enzymes and displays their performances in different stages of clinical trials.
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