Solid plans for CDK9

A team led by Temple University scientists has shed light on a new epigenetic mechanism behind a known cancer target, cyclin dependent kinase 9 (CDK9), that may broaden the scope of CDK9 inhibitors to include solid tumors. The team plans to form a spinout to develop the findings, which were reported in an October Cell study.

Author Jean-Pierre Issa said CDK9 is part of a protein complex that promotes expression of oncogenes, such as v-myc myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog (MYC; c-Myc) and myeloid leukemia cell differentiation protein (MCL1), and that the first trials of CDK9 inhibitors’ oncogene-blocking effects were in hematologic malignancies because MYC and MCL1 are expressed in leukemias. Issa is a professor of medicine at Temple...