Scientists have developed a new method of killing cancer cells, research published in the journal Cell has shown.
A researcher from the UK’s University of Southampton has discovered a protein that is found only in cancer cells, and that blocking its function could result in an effective new cancer drug that leaves the body’s healthy cells undamaged.
Targeting a drug at the newly discovered cellular component – called eEF2K (eukaryotic elongation factor 2 kinase) – could be done, the research suggests, without adverse effects such as those produced by radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Chris Proud, a professor at the University of Southampton, who made the discovery alongside colleagues at the BC Cancer Agency Research Centre in Vancouver, explains the function of the eEF2k protein in cancer cells.
“Cancer cells grow and divide much more rapidly than normal cells, meaning they have a much higher demand for, and are often starved of, nutrients and oxygen,” Prof. Proud says.
He adds: “We have discovered that a cellular component, eEF2k, plays a critical role in allowing cancer cells to survive nutrient starvation, whilst normal, healthy cells do not usually require eEF2K in order to survive.”
Prof. Proud concludes:
“By blocking the function of eEF2K, we should be able to kill cancer cells, without harming normal, healthy cells in the process.”
The study researchers remind us that the majority of cells in the human body contain the same basic components. This means that to attack one of them in a cancer cell using traditional chemotherapy and radiotherapy methods also damages the healthy cells.
They say the eEF2K protein is very rare in normal, healthy cells, meaning a treatment that blocks this protein would be a potential “breakthrough” in the future treatment of cancer patients.
A lot of cancer research is focused on finding proteins to target and kill cancer cells. For example, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently identified a key protein involved in a type of cancer cell death. Their work could lead to drugs that copy this effect.
The next step that Prof. Proud’s team is now looking to take is to work with other laboratories and pharmaceutical companies to develop and test drugs that can block eEF2K.
Alongside this, Prof. Proud is also analyzing proteins in relation to the origins of cancer. He says:
“Protein synthesis – the creation of protein within cells – is a fundamental process that enables cells to grow, divide and function.
If it goes wrong, it can contribute to the development of cancer. We are interested in how defects in this process can cause cancers and other diseases.”
Written by Honor Whiteman and Markus MacGill