Current Chemical Genomics and Translational Medicine

2011, 5 : 62-71
Published online 2011 August 22. DOI: 10.2174/1875397301005010062
Publisher ID: CCGTM-5-62

RESEARCH ARTICLE
 Chemical Biology of Lysine Demethylases

Tom D Heightman, *
Structural Genomics Consortium, Oxford University, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK

* Address correspondence to this author at Astex Therapeutics Ltd, 436 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 0QA, UK; Tel: +44 1223 226200; Fax: +44 1223 226201; E-mail: T.Heightman@astex-therapeutics.com

ABSTRACT

Abnormal levels of DNA methylation and/or histone modifications are observed in patients with a wide variety of chronic diseases. Methylation of lysines within histone tails is a key modification that contributes to increased gene expression or repression depending on the specific residue and degree of methylation, which is in turn controlled by the interplay of lysine methyl transferases and demethylases. Drugs that target these and other enzymes controlling chromatin modifications can modulate the expression of clusters of genes, potentially offering higher therapeutic efficacy than classical agents acting on downstream biochemical pathways that are susceptible to degeneracy. Lysine demethylases, first discovered in 2004, are the subject of increasing interest as therapeutic targets. This review provides an overview of recent findings implicating lysine demethylases in a range of therapeutic areas including oncology, immunoinflammation, metabolic disorders, neuroscience, virology and regenerative medicine, together with a summary of recent advances in structural biology and small molecule inhibitor discovery, supporting the tractability of the protein family for the development of selective druglike inhibitors.

Keywords:

Epigenetic, chromatin, histone, lysine demethylase, inhibitor.