Mice deficient of Myc super-enhancer region reveal differential control mechanism between normal and pathological growth

Our cells each contain close to 20,000 genes, which provide the instructions needed to build our bodies and keep us alive. At any one time in the life of the cell, only some of these genes are active. The activity of each gene is constantly regulated to allow the cell to respond to changes in its environment. Enhancers are sections of DNA, outside of the genes, that act as molecular switches controlling the activity of genes. A gene can have many such enhancers; each enhancer is linked to a particular set of signals and having multiple enhancers allows the same gene to be activated by different signals in different tissues in the body. Changes to enhancers can have serious consequences. By altering the activity of genes, an enhancer can have widespread effects on the health and behavior of a cell, including transforming it from healthy to cancerous. The small differences in enhancers also make some people more susceptible to cancers than others. If we can identify enhancers whose activity is commonly altered in cancers, it could be possible to target them through treatment. Yet, it is not clear whether targeting enhancers in this way could be effectively used to treat cancer without damaging healthy cells. Now, Dave, Sur et al. have examined a large enhancer region with known links to several different cancers – including prostate, breast and colon cancers – to uncover whether it also plays a critical role in healthy cells and if it could be safely targeted for treatment. The region has multiple enhancers for a cancer-linked gene called MYC and is implicated in many cancer-associated deaths every year. This particular enhancer region is found in both humans and mice, which share many genes in common. Using genetic engineering, Dave, Sur et al. removed this enhancer region from the genetic information of a group of mice. The experiment showed that mice without the enhancer region were completely healthy. Also, when tested for cancer development, these mice were much less susceptible to several major types of cancer. This investigation reveals that it may be possible to create drugs to shut down or inhibit certain enhancers to prevent or treat cancer without damaging healthy cells. However, this is currently just one example in mice under laboratory conditions. Further research is needed to determine if a similar approach can be developed to treat patients in the clinic.