SYDNEY, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Researchers in Australia have discovered a new way that could curb aggressive and hard-to-treat cancers by targeting a specialized molecular process known as "minor splicing."
The study shows that blocking minor splicing significantly slows tumor growth in liver, lung and stomach cancers without harming healthy cells, according to a statement released Monday from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) in Australia's Melbourne.
Splicing is how cells turn long strands of RNA into shorter pieces called messenger RNA, which provide the template for the production of proteins. Major splicing carries out 99.5 percent of this work.
Minor splicing is an indispensable process for the remaining 0.5 percent of genes, affecting about 700 of the 20,000 genes in the human genome.
The new research reveals that blocking minor splicing causes the accumulation of DNA damage in cancer cells and activates a key tumour suppressor pathway that leads to cell death. Remarkably, healthy cells are largely unaffected, the researchers found.
"Instead of trying to target specific mutations that may only apply to a subset of patients, we're disrupting a fundamental process that these fast-growing cancers rely on," said Professor Joan Heath, lead researcher at WEHI.
The team worked to screen over 270,000 drug-like molecules to find promising candidates to develop therapies targeting minor splicing.
"We've validated minor splicing as a compelling therapeutic target -- now the challenge is to develop a drug compound that can safely and effectively inhibit it," Heath said. ■
