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As epigenetic therapies continue to gain ground as potential treatment strategies for cancer and other diseases, compounds that target histone lysine methylation and the enzyme complexes represent a major frontier for therapeutic development. Clinically viable therapies targeting the activities of histone lysine methyltransferases (HKMT) and demethylases (HKDMs) have only recently begun to emerge following FDA approval of the EZH2 inhibitor tazemetostat in 2020 and remain limited to compounds targeting the well-studied SET domain-containing HKMTs and their opposing HKDMs. These include the H3K27 methyltransferases EZH2/EZH1, the singular H3K79 methyltransferase DOT1L, and the H3K4 methyltransferase MLL1/ COMPASS as well as H3K9 and H3K36 methyltransferases. They additionally include the H3K4/9-preferential demethylase LSD1 and the H3K4-, H3K27-, and H3K36-preferential KDM5, KDM6, and KDM2 demethylase subfamilies, respectively. This Review discusses the results of recent clinical and preclinical studies relevant to all of these existing and potential therapies. It provides an update on advancements in therapeutic development, as well as more basic molecular understanding, within the past 5 years approximately. It also offers a perspective on histone lysine methylation that departs from the long- predominant "histone code" metaphor, emphasizing complex-disrupting inhibitors and proximity-based approaches rather than catalytic domain inhibitors in the outlook for future therapeutic development., Introduction Epigenetic therapies that target histone lysine methylation (HKme) represent a major frontier for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Broadly defined, epigenetic therapies are compounds that target the [...]

The oncofusion genes created by chromosomal translocations frequently drive hematological malignancies. In general, the chimeric proteins resulting from these oncofusions initiate and drive cancer pathogenesis by disrupting specific cellular mechanisms [...]

The persistence of HIV-1 in long-lived latent reservoirs during suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) remains one of the principal barriers to a functional cure. Blocks to transcriptional elongation play a central role in maintaining the latent state, and several latency reversal strategies focus on the release of positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) from sequestration by negative regulatory complexes, such as the 7SK complex and BRD4. Another major cellular reservoir of P-TEFb is in Super Elongation Complexes (SECs), which play broad regulatory roles in host gene expression. Still, it is unknown if the release of P-TEFb from SECs is a viable latency reversal strategy. Here, we demonstrate that the SEC is not required for HIV-1 replication in primary CD4+ T cells and that a small molecular inhibitor of the P-TEFb/SEC interaction (termed KL-2) increases viral transcription. KL-2 acts synergistically with other latency reversing agents (LRAs) to reactivate viral transcription in several cell line models of latency in a manner that is, at least in part, dependent on the viral Tat protein. Finally, we demonstrate that KL-2 enhances viral reactivation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from people living with HIV (PLWH) on suppressive ART, most notably in combination with inhibitor of apoptosis protein antagonists (IAPi). Taken together, these results suggest that the release of P-TEFb from cellular SECs may be a novel route for HIV-1 latency reactivation. Author summary: Since the start of the HIV pandemic, it is estimated that nearly 86 million people have been infected with the virus, and about 40 million people have died. Modern antiretroviral therapies potently restrict viral replication and prevent the onset of AIDS, saving millions of lives. However, these therapies are not curative due to the persistence of the virus in a silenced or 'latent' state in long-lived cells of the body. One proposed strategy to clear this latent reservoir, termed "shock and kill", is to activate these silenced viruses such that the infected cells can be cleared from the body by the immune system. While several drugs have been developed that can activate latent viruses, none have proven effective at reducing the size of the latent reservoir in patients in clinical trials. Here, we describe a new method for latency reactivation using a small molecule inhibitor of a human protein complex called the Super Elongation Complex (SEC). Inhibiting the SEC enhances viral transcription during active infection and triggers the reactivation of latent viruses, especially when in combination with other latency reversing agents. These results pave the way for developing more effective strategies to reactivate latent viruses towards a functional cure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loss-of-function mutations in methyl-CpG binding protein 2 ( MECP2 ) cause Rett syndrome, a postnatal neurodevelopmental disorder that occurs in ∼1/10,000 live female births. MeCP2 binds to methylated cytosines across genomic DNA and recruits various partners to regulate gene expression. MeCP2 has been shown to repress transcription in vitro and interacts with co-repressors such as the Sin3A and NCoR complexes. Based on these observations, MeCP2 has been largely considered as a repressor of transcription. However, a mouse model of RTT displays many down-regulated genes, and those same genes are up-regulated in a MECP2 duplication mouse model. Furthermore, TCF20, which has been associated with transcriptional activation, have recently been identified as a protein interactor of MeCP2. These data broaden the potential functions of MeCP2 as a regulator of gene expression. Yet, the molecular mechanisms underlying MeCP2-dependent gene regulation remain largely unknown. Here, using a human MECP2 gain-of-function Drosophila model, we screened for genetic modifiers of MECP2 -induced phenotypes. Our approach identified several subunits of the Drosophila super elongation complex, a P-TEFb containing RNA polymerase II (RNA pol II) elongation factor required for the release of promoter-proximally paused RNA pol II, as genetic interactors of MECP2 . We discovered that MeCP2 physically interacts with the SEC in human cells and in the mouse brain. Furthermore, we found that MeCP2 directly binds AFF4, the scaffold of the SEC, via the transcriptional repression domain. Finally, loss of MeCP2 in the mouse cortex caused reduced binding of AFF4 specifically on a subset of genes involved in the regulation of synaptic function, which also displayed the strongest decrease in RNA pol II binding in the genebody. Taken together, our study reveals a previously unrecognized mechanism through which MeCP2 regulates transcription, providing a new dimension to its regulatory role in gene expression.