Recycling of cellular waste will help to defeat cancer
It is known that waste recycling has a positive effect on the state of the entire planet. A cellular version of this process may be useful in the fight against cancer. Scientists at Stanford University, working under the guidance of Dr. Amato J. Giaccia, have identified a molecule that uses one of the methods of self–purification of the body – autophagy - to selectively destroy tumor cells.
Renal cell carcinoma, the most common kidney tumor, almost always develops as a result of mutation of the tumor suppressor gene VHL – the von Hippel–Lindau disease gene (von Hippel-Lindau) – and often does not respond to treatment.
(Hippel-Lindau disease is characterized by the appearance of tumors of various localization – hemangioblastoma of the central nervous system, retinal angioma, pheochromocyte, kidney carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, etc. Inactivation of the VHL gene is also characteristic of a number of forms of non-hereditary tumors. Thus, mutations and/or hypermethylation of both alleles of the VHL gene are observed in about 80% of light-cell kidney cancers.)
The poor prognosis for patients and the resistance of renal cell carcinoma to standard treatment methods necessitates the development of new treatment methods. The authors used a complex screening procedure to search for molecules that selectively destroy kidney cancer cells that do not have a full-fledged VHL gene.
Selective destruction of cancer cells that does not affect healthy cells is of great therapeutic importance, since most of the side effects of chemotherapy, such as vomiting and hair loss, are associated with the toxic effect of drugs on healthy tissues.
The result of the work was the identification of the compound STF-62247, which has selective toxicity against VHL-deficient cells of renal cell carcinoma. STF-62247 induces in such cells the mechanism of autophagy – the process of waste recycling, usually used by cells to save resources in response to various stress factors (for more information about this, see the note "Self–purification of cells - the path to healthy aging").
Recently, there has been more and more evidence of the role of autophagy in the development of malignant tumors, but today it is unclear how intra- and extracellular factors cause the survival or death of autophagous cells.
The authors demonstrated that STF-62247 stimulates autophagy in VHL-deficient cells, while inhibition of the autophagy mechanism increases the survival of cells treated with this drug. Thus, the researchers found a small molecule that selectively induces cell death of VHL-deficient cells, in particular, those that are part of renal cell carcinoma tumors.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of ScienceDaily
16.07.2008