A study published in Nature online today (Dawson et al. Advanced online Publication, DOI: 10.1038/nature10509) by Cellzome and others has identified that a small molecule inhibitor of BET proteins could potentially be used to treat the aggressive and often incurable mixed lineage (MLL-fusion) leukaemia.

The molecular association between BET proteins and factors involved in MLL-fusion leukaemia, which led to the discovery, was unravelled in a collaboration with GSK, the Gurdon Institute of the University of Cambridge, in addition to the Departments of Haematology of the Addenbrookes Hospital, the University Hospital Ulm, the Erasmus University Medical Center and the Cardiff University School of Medicine.

Commenting on the results, Dr David Simmons, CSO of Cellzome said: “This publication shows how our chemoproteomic technology can guide epigenetic drug discovery. This new and exciting field of biology offers great potential for developing novel therapeutic interventions as ‘personalised epigenetic medicines’, and I am pleased that the expertise we have built at Cellzome is making a significant contribution at the forefront of this field.”