MYC proteins in human cancer: epigenetic changes and molecular targeting

Oncogenic activation of MYC proteins affects multiple intracellular pathways, culminating in neoplastic transformation in many cell types. MYC overexpression is involved in all aspects of tumor cell biology including proliferation, cell survival, differentiation, angiogenesis and metastasis. Furthermore, cell proliferation, metabolic boost and survival promoted by MYC produce cells with highly unstable genomes, contributing to tumor progression and maintenance. This study expands our knowledge about the impact of MYC oncogenes alterations on damage response and repair networks. Moreover, this study provides evidences that the histone demethylase LSD1 is a critical co-factor of MYCN repressive function in neuroblastoma and exerts a key role in the control of many important aspects of cell biology through the transcriptional regulation of specific target genes, suggesting that LSD1 inhibition may have strong therapeutic relevance to counteract MYCN-driven oncogenesis.