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Written By: Agencies | Updated : January 5, 2015 3:55 PM IST
New York, Jan 2: A new research has revealed a potential new cancer therapy that uses a small molecule to reset 'biological clock' of cancer cells. According to researchers, the molecule called 6-thio-2'-deoxyguanosine (6-thiodG) can stop the growth of cancer cells and tumour growth, the findings showed. 'We observed broad efficacy against a range of cancer cell lines with very low concentrations of 6-thiodG,' said Jerry Shay, professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre in the US. (Read: Latest Cancer Research: Personalised cancer treatment soon)
How does the molecule work?
The molecule directly targets a unique mechanism (a type of ageing clock) in the cells, which is responsible for regulation of cell survival and determines how long cells can stay alive. This biological clock is defined by DNA structures known as telomeres, which cap the ends of the cell's chromosomes to protect them against damage. Every time the cell divides the telomere ends shortened to a critical length, when the cell can no longer divide. As a result, the cell dies though a process known as apoptosis. (Read: Latest Cancer Research: New test for early cancer detection)
Cancer cells are normally protected from this death by an RNA protein complex called telomerase, which ensures that telomeres do not shorten with every division. But 6-thiodG can be used to disrupt the normal way cells maintain telomere length. 'Since telomerase is expressed in almost all human cancers, this work represents a potentially innovative approach to targeting telomerase-expressing cancer cells with minimal side effects on normal cells,' Shay pointed out. The researchers did not observe serious side effects in the blood, liver and kidneys of the mice that were treated with 6-thiodG. (Read: Latest Cancer Research: Salt kills cancer cells)
Source: IANS
Photo source: Getty images
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