Researchers at the ibs.GRANADA demonstrate the efficacy of a new drug against stem cells that cause cancer initiation and growth, as well as metastasis
An Andalusian team of researchers, belonging to the Biosanitary Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA), designs a drug that fights cancer stem cells (CMC), responsible for the onset and growth of cancer, relapse after chemotherapy and the formation of metastasis
The new compound, called Bozepinib, has been successfully tested in mice, and has selective activity against breast, colon and melanoma CMC
An Andalusian team of researchers, led by the Biosanitary Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA), has demonstrated the efficacy of a new drug against cancer stem cells (CMC), responsible for the onset and growth of cancer, and relapse after chemotherapy and the formation of metastases. This drug, called Bozepinib, has been effective in a study carried out in mice, and which has been published in the prestigious journal Oncotarget.
CMCs are found in tumors in very low numbers, and their important characteristic is the formation of metastases at sites other than the original tumor. Because they are normally in a dormant state (that is, without dividing), conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy act on the more differentiated, dividing tumor cells, but are not capable of destroying these CMCs. In fact, after an initial response to treatment, many cancer patients relapse because these CMCs have not been destroyed.
In recent years, research in the fight against cancer has focused on the search for new drugs that selectively target these CMCs, in such a way that if these cells are eliminated, the tumor will be completely destroyed and this will lead to the healing of patients.
Scientists from the "Advanced Therapies: Differentiation, Regeneration, and Cancer" research group, led by Juan Antonio Marchal, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine, have collaborated with Joaquín Campos, from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Granada (UGR), María Ángel García, from the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital in Granada, and with the Universities of Jaén and Miami (United States) to develop the drug Bozepinib.
Clinical trials with patients
This new drug has selective activity against breast, colon, and melanoma CSCs. "Bozepinib's potent antitumor activity is due to the inhibition of the HER2 signaling pathway, as the drug inhibits invasiveness and the formation of new vessels in the tumor (angiogenesis)," explains Professor Juan Antonio Marchal. Furthermore, the researchers have also demonstrated the specific mechanism by which Bozepinib acts against CSCs.
This new compound showed no toxicity in healthy mice when given intraperitoneally or orally, and it inhibited tumor growth and the formation of lung metastases in tumor-induced mice.
Researchers are currently conducting safety studies and intend that this compound, as well as derivatives thereof, could go into clinical trials with patients in the not too distant future.
Bibliographic reference:
HER2-signaling pathway, JNK and ERKs kinases, and cancer stem-like cells are targets of Bozepinib
Alberto Ramírez, Houria Boulaiz, Cynthia Morata-Tarifa, Macarena Perán, Gema Jiménez, Manuel Picon-Ruiz, Ahmad Agil, Olga Cruz-López, Ana Conejo-García, Joaquín M. Campos, Ana Sánchez, María A. García, Juan A . Marchal
Oncotarget, Vol. 5, No. 11
The full article is available at the following link:
http://www.impactjournals.com/oncotarget/index.php?journal=oncotarget&page=article&op=view&path[]=1962
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Contact:
Juan Antonio Marchal Corrales
Biosanitary Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA) / Department of Human Anatomy and Embryology of the UGR
Phone: 958 249 321
Email: jmarchal@ugr.es
