By inhibiting one enzyme, scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys can kill prostate cancer cells where other treatments cannot.
Researchers have discovered for the first time that targeting a single enzyme called PI5P4K? can kill prostate cancer.recently published findings scientific progressmay help address the growing threat of treatment resistance in prostate cancer, and may also lead to improved treatment of other cancers, such as those affecting the breast, skin, and pancreas.
“This is the first time that this enzyme has been implicated in prostate cancer, and we expect it to prove to be relevant in other cancers,” said co-lead author and associate professor at Sanford Burnham Prebeads. said Brooke Emerling, Ph.D. “A key component of improving precision medicine is using as many tools as possible to treat cancer while reducing the risk of resistance.”
Although many cases of prostate cancer can be treated with testosterone and other male hormone-lowering treatments, approximately 10-20% of prostate cancer cases are resistant to treatment within five years. This treatment-resistant prostate cancer can then spread to other parts of the body and can be fatal.
“Understanding how prostate cancer acquires resistance is important for discovering new therapeutic strategies to slow or reverse prostate cancer progression,” said Emerling. increase.
For the prostate to grow, it needs male hormones known as androgens. Prostate cancer hijacks the prostate androgen signaling machinery to grow rapidly. Therefore, treatments that disrupt these pathways are effective.
“Remarkably, we have discovered an enzyme that can target prostate cancer even when hormone-lowering treatments are ineffective or resistance develops,” says Emerling. may provide a whole new arsenal against prostate cancer and other cancers that depend on this enzyme.”
The study was facilitated by observations by Emerling’s colleagues at the University of Bern, led by co-lead author Mark A. Rubin. They found that patients with treatment-resistant prostate cancer had high levels of her PI5P4Kα, suggesting that this protein plays a role in the cancer’s resistance to therapy and ability to proliferate. Using multiple prostate cancer model systems, Emerling’s team was then able to show that inhibition of this enzyme can kill treatment-resistant prostate cancer.
“It was the first observations from patient data that really got us excited,” adds Emerling.
PI5P4K? Part of a group of enzymes called PI5P4Ks involved in the metabolism of lipids, a type of molecule that includes lipids, hormones, and many vitamins. Although other areas of cancer metabolism have been extensively studied for decades, lipid metabolism has recently emerged as a promising therapeutic avenue for cancer.
“Therapies that target lipid metabolism are a potentially untapped treasure trove of current research interest,” says Emerling. “We are working on drugs that target this enzyme, and there are several companies developing their own drugs.”
Because of this interest, Emerling and her colleagues are optimistic about the future of this therapeutic approach.
“We don’t have a drug yet, but I hope we can do something in clinical trials in the near future. It’s amazing.”
Original: New therapeutic approach for prostate cancer could stop resistance in the process
Than: Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute | University of Bern
