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The photograph shows an enlarged view of human bone cancer cells, which stopped growing when a drug molecule, GO289, blocked their circadian rhythm. The results appear in a Science Advances study. Credit: USC Michelson Center for Convergent Biosciences
A new drug could stop the growth of cancer cells by delaying their biological clock.
The findings of the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience and the Institute of Transformative Biomolecules (ITbM) scientists at Nagoya University are advancing a burgeoning area of research: the rotation of circadian body rhythms. against cancer.
Their study, conducted on human kidney cancer cells and acute myeloid leukemia in mice, was published on January 23 in the journal Progress of science.
Scientists know that disrupting sleep and other elements of the circadian rhythm of humans can be detrimental to health. The same goes for the circadian clock of the cells themselves. If researchers could disrupt the circadian clock of cancer cells, they could theoretically hurt or kill those cells.
Scientists have discovered that a molecule called GO289 targets an enzyme that controls the circadian rhythm of the cell. This drug-protein interaction then disrupts the functions of four other proteins that are important for cell growth and survival.
Indeed, the GO289 can block the cogs of the circadian clock of the cell, thus slowing down its cycles. And this can have a minimal impact on healthy cells.
"In some cancers, the disease takes up the circadian clock mechanism and uses it for the perverse purpose of developing," said Steve Kay, director of convergent biosciences at the USC Michelson Center and Professor of Neurology, Biomedical and Biological Engineering at USC Provost. Sciences. "With GO289, we can interfere with these processes and prevent cancer from developing."
Kay is one of several scientists at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and the USC's Keck School of Medicine, who collaborate in many disciplines to find new solutions in the field. treatment of cancer, neurological diseases and cardiovascular diseases.
Find the right candidate
In its initial interactions with human bone cancer cells, the GO289 appeared to slow down the circadian tumor clock while targeting an enzyme called CK2.
The scientists then tested GO289 on kidney cancer cells and mice with acute myeloid leukemia. They found that GO289 specifically affects the metabolism of cancer cells and other circadian-related functions that would normally allow cancer to develop and spread.
Kay is optimistic about the results. "It could become an effective new weapon that kills cancer," he said.
This article has been republished from documents provided by University of Southern California. Note: Content may have changed for length and content. For more information, please contact the cited source.
Reference: Tsuyoshi Oshima, et al. Cell-based screening identifies a novel, potent and highly selective inhibitor of CK2 for modulation of circadian rhythms and growth of cancer cells. Progress of science. (2019) DOI: 10.1126 / sciadv.aau9060
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