Therapeutic targeting of splicing in cancer

SCW Lee, O Abdel-Wahab - Nature medicine, 2016 - nature.com
SCW Lee, O Abdel-Wahab
Nature medicine, 2016nature.com
Recent studies have highlighted that splicing patterns are frequently altered in cancer and
that mutations in genes encoding spliceosomal proteins, as well as mutations affecting the
splicing of key cancer-associated genes, are enriched in cancer. In parallel, there is also
accumulating evidence that several molecular subtypes of cancer are highly dependent on
splicing function for cell survival. These findings have resulted in a growing interest in
targeting splicing catalysis, splicing regulatory proteins, and/or specific key altered splicing …
Abstract
Recent studies have highlighted that splicing patterns are frequently altered in cancer and that mutations in genes encoding spliceosomal proteins, as well as mutations affecting the splicing of key cancer-associated genes, are enriched in cancer. In parallel, there is also accumulating evidence that several molecular subtypes of cancer are highly dependent on splicing function for cell survival. These findings have resulted in a growing interest in targeting splicing catalysis, splicing regulatory proteins, and/or specific key altered splicing events in the treatment of cancer. Here we present strategies that exist and that are in development to target altered dependency on the spliceosome, as well as aberrant splicing, in cancer. These include drugs to target global splicing in cancer subtypes that are preferentially dependent on wild-type splicing for survival, methods to alter post-translational modifications of splicing-regulating proteins, and strategies to modulate pathologic splicing events and protein–RNA interactions in cancer.
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