New Candidate Drug Stops Cancer Cells, Regenerates Nerve Cells
Scientists have developed a small-molecule-inhibiting drug that in early laboratory cell tests stopped breast cancer cells from spreading and also promoted the growth of early nerve cells called neurites.
Researchers from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center report their findings online June 21 in Chemistry & Biology. The scientists named their lead drug candidate “Rhosin” and hope future testing shows it to be promising for the treatment of various cancers or nervous system damage.
The inhibitor overcomes a number of previous scientific challenges by precisely targeting a single component of a cell signaling protein complex called Rho GTPases. This complex regulates cell movement and growth throughout the body. Miscues in Rho GTPase processes are also widely implicated in human diseases, including various cancers and neurologic disorders.
“Although still years from clinical development, in principle Rhosin could be useful in therapy for many kinds of cancer or possibly neuron and spinal cord regeneration,” said Yi Zheng, PhD, lead investigator and director of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology at Cincinnati Children’s. “We’ve performed in silica (computerized) rational drug design, pharmacological characterization and cell tests in the laboratory, and we are now starting to work with mouse models.”