Cells divide and die
Pancreatic cancer is resistant to all modern methods of treatment: patients have extremely low chances of survival for five years after diagnosis.
A new study by Tel Aviv University has shown that a small molecule has the ability to cause pancreatic cancer cells to self-destruct. The study was conducted on xenografts – mice with weakened immunity, who were hooked on human pancreatic cancer.
This work has great potential for the development of a new effective therapy for pancreatic cancer in humans.
In a 2017 study, the group discovered a mechanism that causes human cancer cells to self-destruct during mitosis without affecting normal cells. In a new study, this information was used to develop an effective means of destroying human pancreatic cancer cells. Mice were treated with modified phenanthridine PJ34 – this compound easily penetrates the cell membrane, but affects only human cancer cells.
The figure on the left shows a block diagram of the phenanthridine molecule, on the right – PJ34.
It causes an anomaly in the process of mitosis of human cancer cells, leading to their rapid death. Thus, the division of cancer cells, which usually leads to tumor growth, in the presence of PJ34 ends with their death.
A month after injection of PJ34 daily for 14 days, a decrease in the number of cancer cells by 80-90% was observed in the pancreatic cancer cells of mice. In one mouse, the tumor completely disappeared.
This mechanism also works effectively with other types of cancer resistant to modern methods of treatment.
It is important to note that no adverse effects were observed, there were no changes in the weight of the mice and in their behavior.
The PJ34 molecule is tested in preclinical trials in accordance with the FDA protocol before starting clinical trials.
Article by L.Visochek et al. The phenanthrene derivative PJ34 exclusively eradicates human pancreatic cancer cells in xenografts is published in the journal Oncotarget.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Tel Aviv University: Research conducted on human pancreatic tumors transplanted in mice reveals promising results, TAU researchers say.