CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists have found a way to trick cancer cells into committing suicide. The novel technique potentially offers an effective method of providing personalized anti-cancer therapy.
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 signaling pathway to procaspase-3 is broken. As a result, cancer cells escape destruction and grow into tumors.
“We have identified a small, synthetic compound that directly activates procaspase-3 and induces apoptosis,” said Paul J. Hergenrother, a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and corresponding author of a paper to be posted online this week ahead of regular publication by the journal Nature Chemical Biology. “By bypassing the broken pathway, we can use the cells’ own machinery to destroy themselves.” Read More
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Well Brody.
It turns out no one really cares about the cure for cancer…
In all fairness, I think maybe that’s because the article you referenced goes into a lot of medical jargon and doesn’t actually say “cure for cancer”, even vaguely.
I can’t tell if the researchers are afraid that their preliminary studies will possibly not prove fruitful once the techniques are further developed and tested, or if the “cure for cancer” has been a holy grail in the medical community for so long that one must approach the subject with extreme timidity, especially in a heavily peer-reviewed microcosm like that.
But it’s very interesting and sounds promising — good information, thanks.