Tag Archives: protein production

New breast cancer drug on the horizon

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A new drug that shrinks the most serious breast cancer tumours could be available in Britain within the next five years.

Affitoxin, which kills cancerous cells by preventing them from producing protein, could give fresh hope to thousands.

Human testing on the ‘wonder drug’ is about to begin in the U.S. and it could be on sale shortly.

The drug works against HER2 positive breast cancer which is the most serious form of the disease.

In trials it has been effective where the Herceptin fails. Cancer sufferers can become immune to the popular drug and once it has been used there are currently no other treatment options.

The research, carried out at Philadelphia University, could mark a significant breakthrough in the fight against disease.

breast-cancer-cell

Breast cancer cell

Around 48,000 women in Britain are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

When Affitoxin was injected into mice with large and aggressive tumours they stopped growing and most of them disappeared altogether.

Dr Jacek Capala said: ‘Herceptin has revolutionized the treatment of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, but a significant number of tumors acquire resistance to the drug.

‘Affitoxin could offer another therapeutic option for those patients whose tumors no longer respond to Herceptin.’


He added: ‘When cells absorb the toxin, it interferes with protein production and, thereby, kills them.’

Baroness Morgan, chief executive of Breast Cancer Campaign, told The Sun: ‘Herceptin is arguably one of the biggest advances in breast cancer in 20 years but in many cases it eventually stops working.

‘If Affitoxin realises its potential as a new treatment for HER2 positive breast cancer, it may overcome this issue of resistance.

‘These promising results indicate a clinical trial urgently needed to move this drug closer to patient use.’

Scientists discover genetic code breakthrough

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Scientists have discovered a way to change the genetic code, raising the possibility of future new treatments for genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and several types of cancer.

The genetic code is the set of instructions in a gene that tell a cell how to make a specific protein.

When proteins are being synthesised by cells, a type of nucleic acid called messenger RNA (mRNA) carries the instructions from DNA and directs the steps necessary to build a protein.

However, mistakes can, and do, happen. Frequent mutations in DNA and mRNA can lead to flawed proteins that have the potential to cause serious harm.

The researchers at the University Rochester Medical Centre, New York, looked at a common type of mutation which can occur on mRNA molecules, known as a pre-mature “stop” codon. This causes a cell to stop reading the genetic instructions during protein production, which results in the formation of a shortened, faulty protein.

DNA

DNA

However, using another type of RNA molecule, the researchers were able to alter the mRNA in a way that turned the stop signal into a “go” signal, so that a normal full-length protein was formed.

Although the team produced the results both in a test tube and in live yeast cells, the hope is to use the technique in the body.


“This is a very exciting finding,” said Yi-Tao Yu, an associate professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, who led the study. “No one ever imagined that you could alter a stop codon the way we have and allow translation to continue uninterrupted like it was never there in the first place.”

Dr Robert Bambara, chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, added: “The ability to manipulate the production of a protein from a particular gene is the new miracle of modern medicine.

“This is a really powerful concept that can be used to try to suppress the tendency of individuals to get certain debilitating, and sometimes fatal genetic diseases that will forever change their lives.”

The findings are published in the journal Nature.