Double bromodomain proteins bind to acetylated lysines in histones, bringing 
associated histone modification and nucleosome remodeling activity to chromatin. 
The ability of bromodomain regulators to alter chromatin status and control gene 
expression has long been appreciated to be important in the development of 
certain human cancers. However, bromodomain proteins have now been found also to 
be critical, non-redundant players in diverse, non-malignant phenotypes, 
directing transcriptional programs that control adipogenesis, energy metabolism 
and inflammation. The fact that such different processes are functionally linked 
by the same molecular machinery suggests a common epigenetic basis to understand 
and interpret the origins of several important co-morbidities, such as asthma or 
cancer that occurs in obesity, and complex inflammatory diseases like 
cardiovascular disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis and 
insulin resistance that may be built on a common pro-inflammatory foundation.