Mohamed Magdi

University of Sharjah, College of Pharmacy, Sharjah, UAE

Abstract:

It was in the past decade only were the science of epigenes started to expand and further explain the progression and pathogenesis of cancerous tissues through looking deeper into the cell’s nucleus and specifically the chromosomes and discover the roles of some epigenetic enzymes that modify and eventually affect the process of cell growth in some tissues and organs. However, although scientists have worked so hard in understanding this kind of phenomena, a lot has still not been elucidated and is left vague. So far, through extensive research, only one epigenetic enzyme was very well understood after it was discovered, and it was shown to be involved in metastatic cancer and specially breast cancer,  a type of cancer that originates from the breast tissues, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts  or the lobules. It occurs in women and very rarely in men. Histone Deacetylase (HDAC) is an epigenetic enzyme that has isoforms involved in the progression of breast cancer. HDAC1 and HDAC6 were found to be highly expressed in breast cancer tissues. Our presentation focuses on HDAC and its isoforms and how it could be inhibited using small molecules to work as a useful therapy for breast cancer.