Erika Roderick

Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) develops from excessive alcohol consumption and results in uncontrolled inflammation in the liver, leading to severe liver damage. AH is associated with high mortality rates of 30-50% at three months with minimal change over the past few decades, making it a public health epidemic that lacks effective treatment options. Further research is in desperate need to create an effective treatment to lower mortality rates. Previously, the Pomerantz lab at the University of Minnesota in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic had established a role for the protein BRD4 towards regulating liver inflammation levels in AH. BRD4 is an epigenetic regulator in the bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) family, which includes proteins BRD2, 3, 4, and T. Previous BRD4 inhibitors have been toxic to patients largely due to being non-selective amongst the BET family, causing side-effects such as thrombocytopenia, limiting their clinical use. The Pomerantz lab’s research has been focusing on a BRD4-selective inhibitor that does not inhibit other proteins of the BET family, to their hypothesis for decreasing the number of unwanted side-effects. However, despite this selectivity, improved potency and general safety properties still need to be improved. This research aims to transform the current clinical lead into a more therapeutically effective medication for the treatment of AH.