Was broken the cell lock: thanks to a New drug design methodnow it is possible introduce even quantities considered so far too greati, opening new perspectives for a whole series of Promising treatmentsstarting from those anti-cancerbut they were set aside due to their size.
The important result, published in the Cell magazine, is due to the research group of the US Duke University, the University of Texas in San Antonio and the University of Arkansas. The tests were conducted on mice using a promising class of Anticancer drugs called Protac: thanks to the new technique, the quantity of drug who managed to enter in cells was from 7 to 22 times higherand the treatment is Result up to 23 times more effective.
“It was completely unexpected, for decades it was thought that such large molecules could not effectively cross the membranes,” says Hong-Yu Li of the University of Texas, among the authors of the study. “This discovery is important because it could save many drugs who previously were considered unusable -adds Hui-Kuan Lin of Duke University, among researchers-and transforming them into clinically useful treatments for diseases “.
The design of drugs usually focuses on obtaining molecules capable of easily crossing membranes cell phones passively, but In this case a different approach: the researchers exploited the natural process called ‘endocytosis’thanks to which the cells can swallow the molecules he is compound Of large size. This process is carried out by the CD36 receptors, abundantly present on the surface of the cells of the intestine, skin, lungs, eyes and even some brain cells. The authors of the study therefore developed the drug in order to make it interact with these receptors, who transported it inside to allow it to perform its function.
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