 |
|
New Developments in Angiogenic Therapy Emerging from Oxford
August 23, 2002Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels, is important in the healthy body for healing wounds and, in females, for the monthly reproductive cycle and during pregnancy. It is controlled in the body through the use of the body’s own angiogenesis inhibitors and stimulators. In certain diseases the body is unable to control blood vessel growth. In diseases such as cancer, diabetic blindness and psoriasis, excessive angiogenesis is occurring; and in diseases such as coronary artery disease and stroke insufficient angiogenesis is the problem.
A novel anti-angiogenic agent
Researchers in the Cancer Research UK Molecular Oncology Laboratory at Oxford University have now identified a new inhibitor of endothelial cell proliferation with possible applications in the treatment of those disorders listed above which are characterised by excessive angiogenesis.
For example, solid cancer tumours are often characterised as being angiogenic, i.e. having an increased blood supply. One promising new treatment for solid tumours proposes to cut off the tumour’s blood supply with subsequent tumour shrinkage. Endothelial cells that line normal blood vessels are usually quiescent while those within tumour blood vessels are proliferating. Anti-angiogenic agents that can selectively inhibit proliferating endothelial cells or cytotoxic agents that can be delivered to the tumour vasculature have huge potential for the treatment of solid tumours.
Oxford, Imperial College and Cancer Research UK scientists, led by Professor Adrian Harris, have now identified a new agent for solving this problem. An anti-angiogenic peptide has been isolated and characterised. This peptide is a new member of the family of anti-angiogenic molecules that includes angiostatin which have for some years been of great interest to the pharmaceutical community. It has been shown in experiments to be an effective inhibitor of endothelial cell proliferation.
A new lead in the fight against Coronary Artery Disease
Alternatively, it has been found that the antibody to the peptide is effective in promoting the proliferation of endothelial cells and is thus a potential angiogenic agent for the treatment of disorders such as coronary artery disease. Angiogenic therapy can alleviate coronary artery disease by stimulating new vessel growth and returning blood flow to the heart, through the delivery of angiogenic proteins or their genes to this organ. Endothelial cells that line blood vessels are the initial targets for promoting new vessel growth. Therefore new biological agents that can stimulate endothelial cell growth, such as this antibody, are important candidates for angiogenic therapy.
Isis Innovation, Oxford University’s technology transfer company, holds the patent application for this project and is actively seeking partners for the licensing and commercial development of these technologies.
Isis Innovation Ltd
Oxford, Imperial College and Cancer Research UK scientists, led by Professor Adrian Harris, have now identified a new agent for solving this problem. An anti-angiogenic peptide has been isolated and characterised. This peptide is a new member of the family of anti-angiogenic molecules that includes angiostatin which have for some years been of great interest to the pharmaceutical community. It has been shown in experiments to be an effective inhibitor of endothelial cell proliferation.
A new lead in the fight against Coronary Artery Disease
Alternatively, it has been found that the antibody to the peptide is effective in promoting the proliferation of endothelial cells and is thus a potential angiogenic agent for the treatment of disorders such as coronary artery disease. Angiogenic therapy can alleviate coronary artery disease by stimulating new vessel growth and returning blood flow to the heart, through the delivery of angiogenic proteins or their genes to this organ. Endothelial cells that line blood vessels are the initial targets for promoting new vessel growth. Therefore new biological agents that can stimulate endothelial cell growth, such as this antibody, are important candidates for angiogenic therapy.
Isis Innovation, Oxford University’s technology transfer company, holds the patent application for this project and is actively seeking partners for the licensing and commercial development of these technologies.
Isis Innovation Ltd
Cancer News and Current Cancer Events RSSBisphenol A linked to metabolic syndrome in human tissue
New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) implicates the primary chemical used to produce hard plastics-bisphenol A (BPA)-as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome and its consequences.
African-Americans have unique lung cancer risks from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Scientists at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have developed a risk prediction assessment for lung cancer specifically for African Americans that suggests a greater risk from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Atomic structure of the mammalian 'fatty acid factory' determined
Mammalian fatty acid synthase is one of the most complex molecular synthetic machines in human cells. It is also a promising target for the development of anti-cancer and anti-obesity drugs and the treatment of metabolic disorders.
International team reveals first prognosticator of survival in aggressive cancer
The tumor suppressor gene pRb2/p130 may provide the first independent prognostic biomarker in cases of soft tissue sarcoma (STS).
M. D. Anderson study finds change in HER2 status after treatment with Herceptin
Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have discovered that when treated with Herceptin prior to surgery, 50 percent of HER2 positive, breast cancer patients showed no signs of disease at the time of surgery.
M. D. Anderson study finds racial disparities in radiation therapy rates for breast cancer
Black women are less likely than white women to receive radiation therapy after a lumpectomy, the standard of care for early stage breast cancer, according to a new study by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
NC State Is First University in Nation to Offer Canine Bone Marrow Transplants
Dogs suffering from lymphoma will be able to receive the same type of medical treatment as their human counterparts, as North Carolina State University becomes the first university in the nation to offer canine bone marrow transplants in a clinical setting.
DNA editing tool flips its target
Imagine having to copy an entire book by hand without missing a comma. Our cells face a similar task every time they divide. They must duplicate both their DNA and a subtle pattern of punctuation-like modifications on the DNA known as methylation.
What a Sleep Study Can Reveal About Fibromyalgia
Research engineers and sleep medicine specialists from two Michigan universities have joined technical and clinical hands to put innovative quantitative analysis, signal-processing technology and computer algorithms to work in the sleep lab.
Stem cell research puts interstate rivalry on hold
Victoria and New South Wales have put aside their competitive interstate rivalry to collaborate on a stem cell research project, as announced by Innovation Minister Gavin Jennings and NSW Minister for Science and Medical Research, Verity Firth, today.
More Cancer News Articles
 | The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." --Randy Pausch A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to... |
 | My Sister's Keeper: A Novel by Jodi Picoult New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult is widely acclaimed for her keen insights into the hearts and minds of real people. Now she tells the emotionally riveting story of a family torn apart by conflicting needs and a passionate love that triumphs over human weakness.Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots... |
 | The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health by T. Colin Campbell, Thomas M. Campbell II Referred to as the "Grand Prix of epidemiology" by The New York Times, this study examines more than 350 variables of health and nutrition with surveys from 6,500 adults in more than 2,500 counties across China and Taiwan, and conclusively demonstrates the link between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. While revealing that proper nutrition can have a dramatic effect on reducing... |
 | Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss by Joel Fuhrman When Mehmet Oz or any of New York's leading doctors has a patient whose life depends on losing weight, they call on Joel Fuhrman, M.D. In EAT TO LIVE, Dr. Fuhrman offers his healthy, effective, and scientifically proven plan for shedding radical amounts of weight quickly, and keeping it off.Losing weight under Dr. Fuhrman's plan is not about willpower, it is about knowledge. The key to this... |
 | Silent Spring by Rachel Carson Silent Spring, released in 1962, offered the first shattering look at widespread ecological degradation and touched off an environmental awareness that still exists. Rachel Carson's book focused on the poisons from insecticides, weed killers, and other common products as well as the use of sprays in agriculture, a practice that led to dangerous chemicals to the food source. Carson argued that... |
 | It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life by Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins People around the world have found inspiration in the story of Lance Armstrong--a world-class athlete nearly struck down by cancer, only to recover and win the Tour de France, the multiday bicycle race famous for its grueling intensity. Armstrong is a thoroughgoing Texan jock, and the changes brought to his life by his illness are startling and powerful, but he's just not interested in wearing a... |
 | Anticancer: A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber A radical synthesis of science and personal experience that advocates a sea change in the way we understand and confront cancerWhen David Servan- Schreiber, a dedicated scientist and doctor, was diagnosed with brain cancer, it changed his life. Confronting what medicine knows about the illness, the little known workings of the body’s natural cancer-fighting capacities, and his own will to live,... |
 | Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth? by Robert Schwartz Courageous Souls explores the premise that we are all eternal souls who plan our lives, including our greatest challenges, before we re born for purposes of spiritual growth. The book contains ten true stories of people who planned physical illness, having handicapped children, deafness, blindness, drug addiction, alcoholism, losing a loved one, and severe accidents. Because very different life... |
 | Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes In this groundbreaking book, the result of seven years of research in every science connected with the impact of nutrition on health, award-winning science writer Gary Taubes shows us that almost everything we believe about the nature of a healthy diet is wrong.For decades we have been taught that fat is bad for us, carbohydrates better, and that the key to a healthy weight is eating less and... |
 | Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy At age nine, Lucy Grealy was diagnosed with a potentially terminal cancer. When she returned to school with a third of her jaw removed, she faced the cruel taunts of classmates. In this strikingly candid memoir, Grealy tells her story of great suffering and remarkable strength without sentimentality and with considerable wit. Vividly portraying the pain of peer rejection and the guilty... |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |