@drdalabro

[Harambe]

https://www.caltech.edu/news/inhibitor-abnormal-protein-points-way-more-selective-cancer-drugs-46534

Proteins are encoded in DNA, and while the degeneracy of the genetic code works to minimize errors, a single DNA basepair mutation can change the structure of the encoded protein. When a mutated protein causes uncontrolled cell growth, we call it cancer. Unfortunately, proteins typically contain hundreds of amino acids, and developing a drug that will target the version of a protein containing one amino acid mutation is difficult. For this reason, most anticancer agents indiscriminately attack both mutant and healthy proteins and tissues. Researchers at Caltech have come up with a potentially general method for selectively drugging only the mutant protein at fault for cancerous activity, even in the crowded and complex milieu of living cells. Their proof of concept study published in Nature Chemistry targets the E17K mutation, which can be the causative mutation of many types of cancer.

Get on dat!

 

[Deleted member 848]

I have finals until the 28th. I've downloaded the paper, and I'll be going through it afterwards.

The heterogeneity of cancer makes treatments like these quite difficult-- curious as to what these ppl have to say.

PS: No-where close to a doctor. Zulu knows more about Genetics than I-- I just happen to have an undergrad degree in it, and I've done research at a cancer lab for two years.

 

[Beer]

I have finals until the 28th. I've downloaded the paper, and I'll be going through it afterwards.

The heterogeneity of cancer makes treatments like these quite difficult-- curious as to what these ppl have to say.

PS: No-where close to a doctor. Zulu knows more about Genetics than I-- I just happen to have an undergrad degree in it, and I've done research at a cancer lab for two years.

Could you rephrase the question in the form of a question that I would know the answer to?

 

[babe]

https://www.caltech.edu/news/inhibitor-abnormal-protein-points-way-more-selective-cancer-drugs-46534



Get on dat!

I know quite a bit, though I'm seriously outdated now for being out of the field for years, about this. The problem is essentially one of taking a tumor cell line and using it to induce production of antibodies to it in a petri dish or tank. You then do some fancy purification method to separate the various antibodies, say with some highly selective column of chromatographic material. Once you get some antibodies purified, you can test their binding coefficient and select for the best ones. Then you do a little chemistry and chemically attach the antibody to a substrate suitable for packing another column of chromatography material. Now you pulverize some of that cancer cell, collecting particles of the cell wall/protein fragments and run that through your new column. The stuff that sticks contains your antigen. You can take that and bind it to another chromatography material and build another column. Now you grow some more tumor cells, and collect the antibodies produced against the antigens on the tumor cell wall. This time when you run those antibodies through your last column, you get what is called a "monoclonal antibody". You can analyze the antigen and the antibody and determine their exact binding site. You can now produce a vaccine that is essentially specific to this one antigen, and voila, you have a "vaccine" that will kill that type of cancer using your own immune system. . . . .

It's a lot of work, and the people who fund those research grants don't view it as the highest priority for their funding, as chemotherapy is supposedly "the way to go".

 

[LogGrad98]

Just wanted to say that chemo sucks. Carry on.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Jack and Coke.

edit: oops, wrong thread

 

[VINYLONE]

Just wanted to say that chemo sucks. Carry on.

Yeah, man. The only personal reference I have is seeing my Pops broken down from it and crying in my arms because he felt he couldn't go on. But he beat the cancer thankfully.

 

[Harambe]

PS: No-where close to a doctor. Zulu knows more about Genetics than I-- I just happen to have an undergrad degree in it, and I've done research at a cancer lab for two years.

Quit being so modest... You'll get there. You owe it to us.

And Zulu's totally welcome.