Cancer. BOOM! What cancer?
Paul J. Hergenrother, a professor of chemistry at the UIUC and other researchers have identified a compound that causes cancer cells to self-destruct, Inspector Gadget style. The sooner they can figure out how to make this happen — the better. The article was taken straight from today's TheNation.com post:
"Compound that causes cancer cells to self-destruct identified: Study"
Scientists have identified a small synthetic compound that causes cancer cells to self destruct, throwing up promise of effective and personalised anti-cancer treatment in the future.
Most living cells contain a protein called procaspase-3 which, when activated, changes into the executioner enzyme caspase-3 and initiates programmed cell death called apoptosis.
In cancer cells, however, the signalling pathway to procaspase-3 is broken. As a result cancer cells escape destruction and grow into tumours.
Paul J. Hergenrother, a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and other researchers identified a synthetic compound that directly activates procaspase-3 and induces apoptosis, reported science portal EurekAlert.
The researchers screened more than 20,000 structurally diverse compounds and found that the compound called PAC-1 (procaspase activating compound one) killed cancer cells in 23 tumours obtained from a local hospital.
The researchers tested the compound's efficacy in cell cultures and in three mouse models of cancer.
"This is the first in what could be a host of organic compounds with the ability to directly activate executioner enzymes," Hergenrother said.
"By bypassing the broken pathway, we can use the cells' own machinery to destroy themselves," he said.
"The potential effectiveness of compounds such as PAC-1 could also be predicted in advance and patients could be selected for treatment based on the amount of procaspase-3 found in their tumour cells."
Such personalized medicine strategies are preferential to therapies that rely on general cytotoxins, the researchers say, and could be the future of anti-cancer therapy.
Many cancer treatments use cytotoxins to kill the actively and rapidly dividing cancer cells.
2 comments
ibx33
This is awesome.
Sorry to be the downer here, but this doesn’t say anything about preventing apoptosis in healthy cells. Apoptosis has this unfortunate tendency to trigger more apoptosis, so that’s the danger here. They’ve still got to figure out how to target cancer cells and prevent the treatment from causing massive cell death throughout the body. We’re still a long way from turning this discovery into a treatment for cancer.
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“Smile Politely sports writer announces candidacy for city government.”
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
And without bloodshed. Sounds like the Savoy trustees aren’t as narrow-minded as some of their whiny pants constituents. Do you think quack Snell is already planning an asinine counterattack or is he still laying low after those “threats” against his person?
Excellent. I am glad sometimes American dreams are encouraged, rather than stifled.
Dollars to waffles says the study session will conclude that there is parking available in the Hill Street Parking Deck.
I can see requiring them to plug meters where they park, but the license fee thing sure sounds like some established business doesn’t like the competition and has an in with the city gummint staff.
This is pretty much ridiculous. However, I would hope that local businesses that aren’t opposed would step up and allow the Crave Truck in their private parking lots. That won’t solve the licensing issue though… (Insert not-so-subtle reference to Snell being behind the grand conspiracy to kill…
How convenient.
Sick Boy was pretty good with computers.
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Oh nice! I’d totally vote for Matt Campbell!
“Smile Politely sports writer announces candidacy for city government.”
I also got to visit Big Grove Tavern during the soft open and definitely enjoyed the pork belly the most of all the dishes I sampled. The cheesy grits and the vinegary pickled vegetables were a perfect compliment to the rich pork belly.
The Alan Partridge lookalike on the right in the first small photo has nothing to condescend to anyone about. AH HA!
Snell and the little Hitlers of the neighborhood association need to chill out. Legitimate businesses should have the freedom to exist without having to endure the slings and arrows of ignorant and misguided opposition.
represent, Matt.
Yeah, I’d agree that Transporter Room 3 is the worst house venue I’ve ever seen.
Food trucks are the start-up, small businesses of the future for those unable to afford real estate. No surprise, that merchants who pay rent, utilities, and maintenance on a property would despise the traveling competition. Or developers who build more empty retail spaces would want to close…
Not so much far-right Tea Party as a balanced, moderate viewpoint between letting businesses succeed and protecting society with reasonable regulations. In spite of what the city reps are saying, the interpretation of policy on this issue certainly has changed. Letting a business start up under one…
I think it’s neat that SP has turned rightward, now espousing a Tea Party-style frustration with government regulations & taxes.
This makes me so sad. (Happy to live in Urbana, though!) Crave Truck has been a GREAT addition to the food choices in C-U, and it’d be a travesty to chase them away. This town should be supporting small businesses. I’m glad to hear that they’ll still…
*slow. clap.* Still offering no threat of intelligence…. I know I said I thought you should just write this whole column yourself next year, Isaac, but now that you’ve gone and taken a “part deux” run at it, I’d like to modify my request: Best Music 2013,…
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What? Echo! (Echo!) Where’s the dischord and dissent?
This weekend will mark the first appearance of Kayla Brown’s Fire Doll Candle booth at the Market. Check it: http://www.facebook.com/firedollcandles
And without bloodshed. Sounds like the Savoy trustees aren’t as narrow-minded as some of their whiny pants constituents. Do you think quack Snell is already planning an asinine counterattack or is he still laying low after those “threats” against his person?
hey, if hair ain’t gon’ be over your head, my jokes may as well be.
Okay, almost 24 hours later and I finally got Issac’s Summer joke. I’m an idiot.
Excellent. I am glad sometimes American dreams are encouraged, rather than stifled.
Swap the dog for a fire pit and it sounds like you’re writing about my back yard. Very nice.
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Oh nice! I’d totally vote for Matt Campbell!