One of the proteins required for centrosome clustering is kinesin family member C1 (KIFC1/HSET), and modulation of KIFC1 stability could reduce its activity in cancer cells.
Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco have identified an RNA-binding protein that increased the translation of Myc mRNA. The authors wrote that their work, which was published online in Nature Cell Biology on Feb. 4, 2025, “transforms the understanding of the translational code in cancer and illuminates therapeutic openings to target the expression of oncogenes.” Myc is a transcription factor that regulates multiple cellular growth factors. Its overexpression is a driver event in many solid tumors, including pancreatic cancer. Drugging Myc, though, has so far proved challenging.
Mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (MET) plays a relevant role in growth, survival, migration and tissue repair. Alterations in MET have been found in non-small-cell lung cancer and head and neck cancer, and are associated with aggressive and difficult-to-treat cancer types.
Tiumbio Co Ltd. has described bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BD2 domain) (BRD4 BD2) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, fibrosis, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and renal and inflammatory disorders.
Nutshell Biotech (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. has identified eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eiF4E) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Forkhead box protein L2 (FOXL2) is a protein involved in ovary development and maintenance, among other functions. Mutations in its gene are involved in ovarian failure and granulosa cell tumors, being the latter a rare cancer type caused in most cases by the C134W mutation (c.402C>G) in the FOXL2 gene. By using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, researchers from Spain have aimed to remove this mutation in the FOLX2 gene from granulosa tumor cells.
Venetoclax, a selective Bcl-2 inhibitor, has proven effective in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), but genetic mutations or adaptive changes over time can result in resistance to treatment and disease relapse. Researchers from Newave Pharmaceutical Inc. and collaborators described the preclinical efficacy of LP-118, a Bcl-2 inhibitor, in venetoclax-resistant models of CLL.
The absent, small or homeotic-like 1 (ASH1L) protein regulates the expression of HOXA genes, which are critical for the development of MLL1 translocations frequently found in leukemia patients. Knockdown of ASH1L leads to growth arrest and apoptosis of leukemia cells, thereby inhibiting leukemia progression suggesting that ASH1L can be considered as a therapeutic target in this setting.
Chinese researchers and their collaborators have published data on the bifunctional antibody JS-201, which exerts dual targeting of PD-1 and TGF-β signaling, for the potential treatment of cancer and its protective role against radiation-induced lung injury.
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