'Silencing genes may lead to new cancer treatments' finds Scientists from University of Glasgow

Scientists have taken a major step towards developing new treatments for certain cancers by developing a method of silencing the internal cellular signals that lead to the uncontrolled growth of cancerous cells.

It is hoped that this breakthrough will open the door to a new generation of therapies that specifically target fast growing cancer cells without the need for heavy doses of chemotherapy or or radiotherapy.

This discovery hinges on the fact that some cancers are caused by disruptions to specific signalling pathways found within cells. Researchers at the University of Glasgow discovered how to break these signalling pathways that are expressing cancerous genes, significantly slowing tumour growth.

Dr George Baillie, the Principal Investigator on the project, said: "This is tremendously exciting leap forward in the search for more effective cancer treatments. Controlling this activity within cells gives us the real potential to help cancer patients where conventional treatments cannot be used and we hope that this discovery opens the door for new ways of fighting the disease."

The team hope has the potential to lead to the development of drugs which significantly slow cell replication and tumour growth. Growth and division of cells is regulated, in part, by one particular cellular pathway called mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). The MAPK pathway controls a variety of cellular responses including cell division and gene expression; it also coordinates the cell’s response towards various external stress factors which threaten its stability.

 It is also the MAPK pathway that often becomes disrupted during the onset of certain cancers and causes rapid tumour growth. A team of scientists have successfully designed and synthesised a custom built molecule, or peptide agent, in the laboratory which is capable of passing undetected into the cell and then disrupting the MAPK signalling channel where it is orchestrating cancer growth.

The team from the University of Glasgow successfully located a particular signalling node within the MAPK pathway that regulates its action and controls cell growth. At this point, two specific enzymes, Raf-1 and PDE8A, bind together causing a reaction that significantly boosts cell growth. Knowing this, researchers were then able to map the interaction surfaces
between the two enzymes and develop a new peptide molecule that could permeate the cell membrane and then disassemble the Raf-1 – PDE8A complex. This action breaks the MAPK signalling pathway and significantly slows cell replication and tumour growth in instances where cancerous genes are being expressed.