New Target for Cancer Treatment Discovered by Scientists

October 11, 2024

Scientists at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) in Kolkata have made a promising discovery in cancer treatment. They found that by targeting an enzyme involved in DNA repair, called TDP1, they might help improve outcomes for patients whose cancer has become resistant to current therapies. This discovery could lead to new combination treatments for cancer.

Why Do Cancer Cells Resist Current Treatments?

Many cancer treatments use drugs like Camptothecin and Irinotecan to block an important enzyme called Topoisomerase 1 (Top1), which helps cancer cells make copies of their DNA. However, over time, some cancer cells become resistant to these drugs, meaning the treatments no longer work as well. That’s why scientists are looking for new ways to fight cancer.

Key Proteins: TDP1 and CDK1

The research focuses on two important proteins: TDP1 and Cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1).

TDP1: This enzyme repairs damage caused by Top1 inhibitors, helping cancer cells recover from drug treatments.

CDK1: This protein is crucial for controlling the cell cycle, especially when cells are getting ready to divide.

When CDK1 adds a phosphate group to TDP1 (a process called phosphorylation), it makes TDP1 better at fixing DNA damage, allowing cancer cells to survive treatments that aim to damage their DNA.

How the New Therapy Works

The scientists found that blocking CDK1 could stop TDP1 from repairing the cancer cells’ DNA, making it easier to kill those cells with Top1 inhibitors. This combination therapy using both CDK1 inhibitors and Top1 inhibitors could make cancer treatments much more effective, especially in cases where the cancer has become resistant.

What Does This Mean for Cancer Treatment?

This discovery is exciting because it offers a potential new way to treat cancers that no longer respond to existing drugs. By stopping cancer cells from repairing their damaged DNA, this combination therapy could increase the chances of killing the cancer cells.

More studies are underway to test this treatment in animals. If successful, it could lead to new precision medicine treatments, where therapies are tailored to attack specific weaknesses in cancer cells, like their DNA repair mechanisms.

What is TDP1?

TDP1 is an enzyme that helps repair DNA breaks, specifically when there is damage caused by Top1 inhibitors. It’s found in humans, yeast, and bacteria, and plays a big role in fixing the damage caused during DNA replication. Understanding how TDP1 works is important, as it could lead to better cancer treatments by targeting DNA repair systems in cancer cells.

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