NYU researchers develop compound to block signaling of cancer-causing protein
Jul 17, 2011 - 4:00:00 AM
, Reviewed by: Dr. Rashmi Yadav
|
|
The researchers note that synthetic Sos may offer a lead for the creation of pharmaceuticals that can block Sos-Ras interaction.
|
|
|
NYU School of Medicine
|
|
NYU School of Medicine, the medical school of NYU Medical is one of the nation's preeminent academic institutions dedicated to achieving world class medical educational excellence. For 170 years, NYU School of Medicine has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history and enrich the lives of countless people. An integral part of NYU Langone Medical Center, the School of Medicine at its core is committed to improving the human condition through medical education, scientific research and direct patient care. The School also maintains academic affiliations with area hospitals, including Bellevue Hospital, one of the nation's finest municipal hospitals where its students, residents and faculty provide the clinical and emergency care to New York City's diverse population, which enhances the scope and quality of their medical education and training.
|
|
By New York University,
[RxPG] Researchers at New York University's Department of Chemistry and NYU Langone Medical Center have developed a compound that blocks signaling from a protein implicated in many types of cancer. The compound is described in the latest issue of the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
The researchers examined signaling by receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK). Abnormal RTK signaling is a major underlying cause of various developmental disorders and diseases, including many forms of cancer. RTK signaling pathway employs interactions between proteins Sos and Ras, and accounts for a broad range of molecular changes that underlie various cancers and other diseases. Disrupting the Sos-Ras interaction, then, is crucial to stemming the production of cancer cells.
However, interactions between large protein molecules such as Ras and Sos have been difficult to modulate with artificial means. Through a series of experimental and computational analyses, the scientists hypothesized that by mimicking a key portion of Sos, they might disrupt its interactions with Ras. Specifically, they observed that Sos activates Ras through a helix—a critical portion of Sos that makes contact with Ras. Creation of this Sos mimetic required a method for locking correct helical shapes in synthetic strings of amino acids – a method previously developed at NYU School of Medicine.
| Funding information and declaration of competing interests:
The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.
|
|
Subscribe to Cancer Newsletter
|
|
|
|
About Dr. Rashmi Yadav
|
This news story has been reviewed by Dr. Rashmi Yadav before its publication on RxPG News website. Dr. Rashmi Yadav, MBBS, is a senior editor for RxPG News. In her position she is responsible for managing special correspondents and the surgery section of the website. Her areas of special interest include cardiothoracic surgery and interventional radiology. She can be reached for corrections and feedback at [email protected]
RxPG News is committed to promotion and implementation of Evidence Based Medical Journalism in all channels of mass media including internet.
|
|
Additional information about the news article
|
The study was co-authored by Paramjit Arora, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, Anupam Patgiri, graduate student in the Department of Chemistry, Dafna Bar-Sagi, professor in the Department of Biochemistry, and Kamlesh Yadav, graduate student in the Department of Biochemistry.
|
|
Feedback
|
For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send
any medical news or health news press releases, use
feedback form
|
Top of Page
|
