BRD4 inhibition exerts anti-viral activity through DNA damage-dependent innate immune responses

In the article Wang et al. examine the effects of ten epigenetic factors and their impact on the virus pseudorabies (PRV). They found that the inhibition of the "master regulator of gene expression" BRD4 boosted the immune response against the virus (PRV). This is because BRD4 inhibition caused the DNA damage response by inducing cellular instability. Thus, increasing the hosts resistance to infection because, the inhibitory effect of BRD4 is attributed to the reduction of viral attachment. So if the virus can't attach properly then it cannot infect that cell. Other research on BRD4 suggests that it can be used against cancers such as prostate and breast cancer because BRD4 inhibition decreases RAD51 expression which would damage the cancer DNA cells.

https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1008429

Pot-luck 3/30/2020
Annelise Beer