Circadian clock activators kill cancer cells

Abstract

Women who work night shifts have substantially higher risks of breast, digestive system, and skin cancers, a recent study found. The findings reinforce a connection researchers have observed between cancer and the circadian clock, a biological system that controls the daily schedule of physiological processes. Now, in findings that could lead to a new class of cancer drugs, researchers have uncovered a key molecular link between circadian rhythm and cancer. The nuclear hormone receptors REV-ERBα and REV-ERBβ are essential components of the body’s circadian clock. Gabriele Sulli and Satchidananda Panda at Salk Institute for Biological Studies and coworkers show that when each of two small organic molecules, SR9009 and SR9011, turn on the receptors in cell culture, the interactions kill leukemia, melanoma, breast cancer, colon cancer, and brain cancer cells, as well as dormant premalignant cancer cells (Nature 2018, DOI: 10.1038/nature25170). SR9009 also reduced the growth of glioblastoma, a form