Taking aim at mysterious DNA structures in the battle against cancerNovember 05, 2009Designers of anti-cancer drugs are aiming their arrows at mysterious chunks of the genetic material DNA that may play a key role in preventing the growth and spread of cancer cells, according to an article in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News, ACS' weekly newsmagazine. C&EN Deputy Assistant Managing Editor Stu Borman notes that the DNA structures, which scientists term "quadruplexes" because they have four-sided structures, are a genre of folded DNA that may help control whether genes are switched on or off. Quadruplexes sometimes form near genes that foster the growth of cancer cells. Some scientists thus regard them as promising targets for developing new anti-cancer drugs. Drugs that interact with quadruplexes could help kill cancer cells without harming healthy cells. In addition, they may side-step the serious problem of drug resistance, in which some drugs gradually lose their effectiveness against cancer. The article describes research on quadruplex-targeted drugs and explores the mysteries about how quadruplexes form, disappear, and work. American Chemical Society |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Cancer Cells Current Events and Cancer Cells News Articles Common pain relief medication may encourage cancer growth Although morphine has been the gold-standard treatment for postoperative and chronic cancer pain for two centuries, a growing body of evidence is showing that opiate-based painkillers can stimulate the growth and spread of cancer cells. Cancers' Sweet Tooth May Be Weakness The pedal-to-the-metal signals driving the growth of several types of cancer cells lead to a common switch governing the use of glucose, researchers at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University have discovered. UCLA researchers create 'fly paper' to capture circulating cancer cells Just as fly paper captures insects, an innovative new device with nano-sized features developed by researchers at UCLA is able to grab cancer cells in the blood that have broken off from a tumor. Paradoxical protein might prevent cancer One difficulty with fighting cancer cells is that they are similar in many respects to the body's stem cells. By focusing on the differences, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found a new way of tackling colon cancer. The study is presented in the prestigious journal Cell. Cornell researchers identify a weak link in cancer cell armor The seeming invincibility of cancerous tumors may be crumbling, thanks to a promising new gene therapy that eliminates the ability of certain cells to repair themselves. Aileron collaborates study in Nature: Stapled peptides inhibit Notch1 transcription factor This research validates the potential for Stapled Peptides to modulate key intracellular biological targets, such as transcription factors, that have not been addressable with current small molecule or biologic drug modalities. Researchers 'notch' a victory toward new kind of cancer drug Scientists have devised an innovative way to disarm a key protein considered to be "undruggable," meaning that all previous efforts to develop a drug against it have failed. Barrow study identifies new way to biopsy brain tumors in real time A new miniature, hand-held microscope may allow more precise removal of brain tumors and an easier recognition of tumor locations during surgery. Coffee break: Compound brewing new research in colon, breast cancer A compound in coffee has been found to be estrogenic in studies by Texas AgriLife Research scientists. Newly Discovered Fat Molecule: An Undersea Killer with an Upside A chemical culprit responsible for the rapid, mysterious death of phytoplankton in the North Atlantic Ocean has been found by collaborating scientists at Rutgers University and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). This same chemical may hold unexpected promise in cancer research. More Cancer Cells Current Events and Cancer Cells News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||