Scientists close to deactivating enzyme active in nearly all human tumours
Scientists in the US believe they may have come close to developing more effective drugs to treat cancers after a breakthrough has led to them partially unlocking the secret of an enzyme active in 80% of cancers.
Telomerase, which adds multiple copies of DNA to the ends of chromosomes, is present in cells that multiply frequently but is turned off in most adults to prevent unneeded growth. Many cancers regain the ability to active telomerase and this allows them to unlimitedly replicate.
The Gene Expression and Regulation Programme, based at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, has deciphered part of the enzyme's structure and believes it could lead to the development of new cancer drugs that shut down the copying aspect and stopping cell division.
Dr Emmanuel Skordalakes, assistant professor in the programme, said: "Telomerase is an ideal target for chemotherapy because it is active in almost all human tumours, but inactive in most normal cells. That means a drug that deactivates telomerase would likely work against all cancers with few side-effects."
The team used telomerase from a gene obtained from the red flour beetle and a technique called X-ray crystallography which helped them determine the three-dimensional structure of the enzyme's active region.
Liz Baker, senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said the research was "fundamental" and had the potential to treat a whole range of cancers.
She added: "This is a crucial part of the puzzle in understanding how telomerase works."
