Cited by 469Protein Degradation and InhibitorsGenomics and Chromatin DynamicsChromatin Remodeling and Cancer

BET Bromodomain Proteins Function as Master Transcription Elongation Factors Independent of CDK9 Recruitment

Open access
Winter, Georg E., Mayer, Andreas, Buckley, Dennis L., Erb, Michael A., Roderick, Justine E., Vittori, Sarah, Reyes, Jaime M., di Iulio, Julia +15 more·2017·Molecular Cell

Abstract

Processive elongation of RNA Polymerase II from a proximal promoter paused state is a rate-limiting event in human gene control. A small number of regulatory factors influence transcription elongation on a global scale. Prior research using small-molecule BET bromodomain inhibitors, such as JQ1, linked BRD4 to context-specific elongation at a limited number of genes associated with massive enhancer regions. Here, the mechanistic characterization of an optimized chemical degrader of BET bromodomain proteins, dBET6, led to the unexpected identification of BET proteins as master regulators of global transcription elongation. In contrast to the selective effect of bromodomain inhibition on transcription, BET degradation prompts a collapse of global elongation that phenocopies CDK9 inhibition. Notably, BRD4 loss does not directly affect CDK9 localization. These studies, performed in translational models of T cell leukemia, establish a mechanism-based rationale for the development of BET bromodomain degradation as cancer therapy.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.molcel.2017.06.004

Cites

45 of 45 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • dBET6 and ARV-771 have matched cellular potency, including in KBM7 cells.

    “we focused on two BET Bromodomain targeting PROTACs: dBET6 (CRBN-based) and ARV-771 (VHL-based) that have matched cellular potency, including in the near-haploid human leukemia cell line KBM7 (Extended Data Fig. 1A)26,27.”
  • Differences in proteome response could be attributed to distinct recruitment ligases used by MZ1 (VHL) or dBET6 (CRBN), as well as established differences in selectivity for BBDs, where MZ1 preferentially degrades BRD4, whereas dBET6 degrades BRD2, BRD3 and BRD4 equivalently.

    “These differences could be attributed to the distinct recruitment ligases used by MZ1 (VHL) or dBET6 (CRBN), as well as the established differences in selectivity for the BBDs, where MZ1 preferentially degrades BRD4 (17), whereas dBET6 degrades BRD2, BRD3 and BRD4, equivalently (16).”
  • dBET6 showed better efficacy against T-ALL compared with JQ1.

    “Later, they optimized the linker and found a more potent PROTAC (dBET6) that showed better efficacy against T-ALL compared with JQ1 [43].”
  • Profiling changes in global protein expression by proteomics will be helpful to appreciate potential off-target toxicities of PROTACs.

    “Therefore, profiling the changes in global protein expression by proteomics will be helpful to appreciate the potential off-target toxicities of PROTACs [3, 4, 43].”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

2 of the 47 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Winter, G. E., Mayer, A., Buckley, D. L., Erb, M. A., Roderick, J. E., Vittori, S., Reyes, J. M., di Iulio, J., Souza, A., Ott, C. J., Roberts, J. M., Zeid, R., Scott, T. G., Paulk, J., Lachance, K., Olson, C. M., Dastjerdi, S., Bauer, S., Lin, C. Y., Gray, N. S., Kelliher, M. A., Churchman, L. S., & Bradner, J. E.
Affiliations
  • Austrian Academy of Sciences (AT)
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (US)
  • University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School (US)
Corresponding author
  • Churchman, L. Stirling
  • Bradner, James E.
Venue
Molecular Cell
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-07
Volume
67
Issue
1
Pages
5-18.e19
ISSN
1097-2765 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2733066269
Cited by
465
References
47
Citations by year
2026: 43 · 2025: 59 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 54 · 2022: 66 · 2021: 59 · 2020: 43 · 2019: 50 · 2018: 42 · 2017: 5
FWCI
15.64
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Molecular Cell (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network (American Medical Association) (submittedVersion)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • William Lawrence and Blanche Hughes Foundation
  • NIH (R01-HG007173, R01-GM117333, R01-CA176745, P01-CA109901)
  • EMBO long-term fellowship (ALTF 39-2013)
  • Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (DRG-2196-14)
  • Human Frontier Science Program (LT000314/2013-L)
  • EMBO (ALTF858-2012)
  • Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoc Mobility Fellowship
  • American Cancer Society Post-doctoral fellowship (125087-PF-13-247-01-LIB)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protein Degradation and Inhibitors
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Chromatin Remodeling and Cancer
Keywords
BET proteins, BRD4, transcription elongation, RNA polymerase II, CDK9, bromodomain inhibitors, JQ1, enhancers, T-cell leukemia, cancer therapy
MeSH terms
Bromodomain Containing Proteins, Animals, Antineoplastic Agents, DNA-Binding Proteins, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Female, Humans, Mice, Transgenic, Nuclear Proteins, Peptide Hydrolases, RNA Polymerase II, Time Factors, Transcription Factors, Transfection, Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic, Mice, SCID, Mice, Inbred NOD, Cell Cycle Proteins, Jurkat Cells, Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays, Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 9, Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases, HCT116 Cells, Multiprotein Complexes, Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing, Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma, Protein Stability, HEK293 Cells, Proteolysis, Transcription Elongation, Genetic

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review