The biochemistry of topoisomerase reactions is quite well understood and the enzymes are important targets for anti-tumor drugs used in the clinic as well as for rational drug development efforts.
Cells can become resistant to topo inhibitors.
Ongoing research interests are to further define the biological role of topos, to improve the clinical utility of targeted drugs and to discover new lead compounds. A recent study of cell survival and drug-resistance development following drug treatments has implicated a topo isoenzyme in the cellular response to various antineoplastic agents 1 . Y.C. Cheng and K.H. Lee. K.H.Lee and Y.C.Cheng.