Novel drug shuts down master protein key to lymphoma
Scientists have found how an experimental drug is capable of completely eradicating lymphoma in mice after just five doses. The study, led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College, sets the stage for testing the drug in clinical trials of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, itself the seventh most frequently diagnosed cancer in the US.
In the study published in journal Cell Reports, the scientists described how the powerful master regulatory transcription factor Bcl6 regulates the genome, ensuring that aggressive lymphomas survive and thrive. They also demonstrate how the Bcl6 inhibitor, developed at Weill Cornell, effectively gums up the protein, stopping it from working.
The study’s senior investigator, Dr Ari Melnick, Gebroe Family Professor of Hematology/Oncology and director of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Centre for Biomedical and Physical Sciences at Weill Cornell developed the first BCL6 inhibitors nine years ago, and has continued to improve upon the design of these drugs so they could be used to treat cancer patients.
Post new comment