Research points to new target for stopping colon cancer
August 17, 2009New research led by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have found a drug target that suggests a potent way to kill colon cancers that resist current drugs aimed at blocking a molecule found on the surface of cells.
Drugs that target the epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR, have been used for a number of cancers. But these drugs called EGFR inhibitors, such as cetuximab, have not been very effective against colon cancer.
The new study, however, shows that drugs that target the closely related receptor ERBB3 would probably be much more effective than EGFR inhibitors at treating most colorectal cancers, said David Threadgill, Ph.D., adjunct professor in the department of genetics at UNC and lead author of the study. He also is a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and a professor in the genetics department at North Carolina State University.
The study is published online August 17 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
The researchers genetically blocked ERBB3 in a mouse model of colon cancer and in human colon cancer cell lines. "If you genetically remove ERBB3, as you would if you were pharmacologically targeting it, then the mice rarely develop colon cancer," Threadgill said.
In the human colon cancer cell lines that are resistant to EGFR inhibitors, cell death increased dramatically when ERBB3 was genetically removed. "So ERBB3 is essential for preventing colon cancer cells from dying," Threadgill said. Now Threadgill is testing a pharmacologic inhibitor to get the same anti-ERBB3 effect they achieved with genetics. "If we can use an inhibitor to block ERBB3, then it should be a very potent anti-cancer therapeutic," he said.
More broadly, the study suggests a new path for developing anti-cancer drugs.
Many cancer therapeutics, such as EGFR inhibitors, target proteins that are kinases—enzymes that initiate a cascade of signals that tell cells to reproduce. But ERBB3 is a pseudo-kinase; it functions only by binding with other proteins that have kinase activity.
"This study shows that targets that historically hadn't been considered because they don't have the typical activities of a kinase can be equally if not more important in supporting cancer cells," Threadgill said.
Source: University of North Carolina School of Medicine (news : web)
-
EGFR protects cancer cells from starvation via a kinase-independent mechanism
May 05, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
'2-headed' antibody poses a double threat to breast cancer cells
Nov 13, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study reveals how some molecules inhibit growth of lung cancer cells
Mar 12, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Potential new therapeutic molecular target to fight cancer
Nov 01, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Curbing hormones' effects in obese patients could aid against breast cancer
Dec 01, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (33) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
-
Is Everyday Technology Killing Us?
Feb 08, 2012
-
Exercise and weight loss
Feb 08, 2012
-
Why do we have head aches? Our brains can't feel anything.
Feb 07, 2012
-
"The end of diseases" by David Agus, interview from Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Feb 04, 2012
-
Oncolytic adenovirus
Feb 04, 2012
-
Nutrition label stuffs and diets
Feb 02, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
Overeating may double risk of memory loss
New research suggests that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), among people age 70 and older. The study was released today and will be ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
4 hours ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Starve a virus, feed a cure? Findings show how some cells protect themselves against HIV
A protein that protects some of our immune cells from the most common and virulent form of HIV works by starving the virus of the molecular building blocks that it needs to replicate, according to research published online ...
7 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
Declining health-care productivity in England: Who says so?
Reports that the National Health Service in England has been declining in productivity in the last decade appear to have been accepted as fact. However, a Viewpoint published Online First by The Lancet disputes this. The Vi ...
2 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Injured boomers beware: Know when to see doctor
(AP) -- It happened to nurse Jane Byron years after an in-line skating fall, business owner Haralee Weintraub while doing "men's" push-ups, and avid cyclist Gene Wilberg while lifting a heavy box.
9 hours ago |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
FDA-approved drug rapidly clears amyloid from the brain, reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in mice
Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have made a dramatic breakthrough in their efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The researchers' findings, published in the journal Science, show t ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Feb 09, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (58) |
17
|
Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy
For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...
New method to examine batteries -- MRI from the inside
There is an ever-increasing need for advanced batteries for portable electronics, such as phones, cameras, and music players, but also to power electric vehicles and to facilitate the distribution and storage of energy derived ...
A mitosis mystery solved: How chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell
Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric ...
Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon
(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...
Lab study raises questions over nano-particle impact
Tests involving chickens have raised questions about the impact on health from engineered nano-particles, the ultra-fine grains commonly used in drugs and processed foods, scientists said on Sunday.
Researchers find extensive RNA editing in human transcriptome
In a new study published online in Nature Biotechnology, researchers from BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, reported the evidence of extensive RNA editing in a human cell line by analysis of RNA-seq data, demons ...