Using pre-clinical cell and animal models, scientists have discovered a novel small molecule that works to directly activate a tumor suppressor protein (PP2A) and prevent the formation of lung cancer tumors. They published their results in The Journal of Clinical Investigation
Phosphate molecules, the molecular switches responsible for turning cellular proteins on and off, are common drug targets.
“All the drugs we currently have to treat our cancer patients target what we call kinases, which attach phosphate molecules to proteins. But equally important to this are the enzymes that take the phosphate off,” said Goutham Narla, MD, PhD, Pardee-Gerstacker Professor in Cancer Research, and associate professor, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; and member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
But the enzyme PP2A can turn tumor proteins “off” via removal of the phosphate molecules attached to them. “This tumor suppressor is turned off in pretty much every major cancer. Its inactivation is essential for a normal cell to become a cancer cell,” explained Dr. Narla. (Reference: https://www.mdlinx.com/pharmacy/article/873)