Scientists Target Cells' Biological Clock to Kill Cancer Cells

Scientists are finding new treatments for cancer every day. Now, scientists have targeted cells' biological clock in a promising new therapy to kill cancer cells.

In this case, researchers have targeted telomeres with a small molecule called 6-thiodG that takes advantage of the cell's biological clock to shrink tumor growth. This small molecule is called 6-thio-2'-deoxyguanosine could and could stop the growth of cancer cells in culture.

"We observed broad efficacy against a range of cancer cell lines with very low concentrations of 6-thiodG, as well as tumor burden shrinkage in mice," said Jerry Shay, one of the researchers, in a news release.

The molecule acts by targeting a unique mechanism that is thought to regulate how long cells can stay alive, a type of aging clock. This biological clock is defined by DNA structures known as telomeres, which cap the ends of the cell's chromosomes to protect them from damage, and which become shorter every time the cell divides. Once telomeres have shortened to a critical length, the cell can no longer divide and dies through a process known as apoptosis.

Cancer cells are actually protected from this death by a RNA protein complex called telomerase, which ensures the telomeres don't shorten with each division. Yet 6-thiodG can interfere with telomerase, which uses it as a substrate and disrupts 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," said Shay. "We believe this small molecule will address an unmet cancer need in an underexplored area that will be rapidly applicable to the clinic."

The findings are published in the journal Cancer Discovery.

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).