Antibiotic paves way for novel anti-cancer agents
January 29th, 2011 - 2:44 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Jan 29 (ANI): Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have reported that an antibiotic known for its immunosuppressive functions could also point the way to the development of new anti-cancer agents.
The study determined that the compound, tautomycetin, targets an enzyme called SHP2, which plays an important role in cell activities such as proliferation and differentiation. Interestingly, SHP2 mutations are also known to cause several types of leukemia and solid tumors.
The potential for developing anti-cancer agents grew out of an attempt to determine how the compound, tautomycetin, exerts its immune suppression activities, said Zhong-Yin Zhang, Robert A. Harris Professor and chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
The finding is also encouraging because SHP2 is a member of a large family of enzymes called protein tyrosine phosphotases (PTPs), which are important in the signaling processes that control all essential cellular functions. Dysregulation of PTP activity has been linked to several human diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and immune dysfunctions. But their makeup has made it difficult to find potential drugs to act on them, characteristics that have labeled the PTPs as “undruggable,” Zhang said.
“So we have identified a lead - a natural product produced by the bacteria Streptomyces - that should serve as a foundation for the development of therapeutic agents for a large family of protein tyrosine phosphotase targets. Until now these targets, including SHP2 for leukemia and other cancers, have been deemed undruggable,” he said.
The findings has been published in the journal Chemistry and Biology.(ANI)
- Scientists identify four anti-cancer compounds - Nov 30, 2011
- Synthetic compound may lead to drugs to fight pancreatic, lung cancer - Mar 10, 2011
- Compound boosts cancer-killing properties of agent in trials - Jun 10, 2010
- Compound to starve cancers of sugar-based building blocks found - Nov 19, 2010
- Scientists find TB disease mechanism along with compound to block it - Feb 16, 2010
- Cell killer enzyme could help cancer treatment - Mar 06, 2011
- Molecules that help propel cancer metastasis identified - Apr 08, 2011
- New personalized therapy to 'fool cancer cells into killing themselves' - Mar 01, 2011
- Scientists identify enzyme structure that activates disease-fighters - Jul 29, 2010
- Novel treatment gives hope to lymphoma, leukemia patients - Feb 27, 2010
- Bioengineered protein may help fight leukemia - Feb 19, 2011
- Potential treatment target for congenital heart disease identified - Feb 22, 2011
- Bacterial 'genome mining' produces new drugs - Aug 02, 2010
- Chinese medicinal plant extract may help develop anticancer drugs - Mar 04, 2011
- Key pathway implicated in progression of childhood cancer found - Sep 19, 2010
Tags: antibiotic, biochemistry and molecular biology, cancer agents, cellular functions, chemistry and biology, department of biochemistry, department of biochemistry and molecular biology, human diseases, immune suppression, indiana university school, indiana university school of medicine, leukemia, protein tyrosine, ptps, robert a harris, school of medicine, streptomyces, suppression activities, therapeutic agents, types of leukemia