A New Way to Restore Tumor Suppressor Function
August 2013
in “
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
”
TLDR New treatments may restore cancer-blocking proteins, slow prostate cancer, identify drug targets, and potentially regrow hair.
The document summarizes several research findings in the field of cancer treatment and dermal disorders. One study identified a peptidomimetic that disrupts the interaction between the androgen receptor (AR) and the co-regulator protein PELP1, inhibiting AR nuclear translocation and androgen-induced proliferation, and reducing tumor growth in a mouse model of prostate cancer. Another study discovered a secreted variant of the tumor suppressor PTEN, named PTEN-long, which can enter cells and antagonize PI3K signaling, reducing tumor growth in mice, suggesting potential therapeutic benefits. Additionally, a thermodynamic sensor assay was developed to profile the specificity of kinase inhibitors against over 300 kinases in living cells, identifying new targets for existing drugs. Lastly, research on hair follicle regeneration revealed that fibroblast growth factor 9 (FGF9) is key for hair follicle regeneration in mice after skin wounding, indicating that targeting FGF9 might induce hair follicle regeneration in humans.
