USP7: Novel Drug Target in Cancer Therapy

Overview

Journal Front Pharmacol

Date 2019 May 23

PMID 31114498

Citations 57

Authors

Zhiru Wang

Wenting Kang

Yinghua You

Jingru Pang

Hongmei Ren

Zhenhe Suo

Hongmin Liu

Yichao Zheng

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Ubiquitin specific protease 7 (USP7) is one of the deubiquitinating enzymes (DUB) that erases ubiquitin and protects substrate protein from degradation. Full activity of USP7 requires the C-terminal Ub-like domains fold back onto the catalytic domain, allowing the remodeling of the active site to a catalytically competent state by the C-terminal peptide. Until now, numerous proteins have been identified as substrates of USP7, which play a key role in cell cycle, DNA repair, chromatin remodeling, and epigenetic regulation. Aberrant activation or overexpression of USP7 may promote oncogenesis and viral disease, making it a target for therapeutic intervention. Currently, several synthetic small molecules have been identified as inhibitors of USP7, and applied in the treatment of diverse diseases. Hence, USP7 may be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer.

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