New drug target valid for breast cancer as well as lymphoma

Image

 

One more piece of the puzzle has fallen into place behind a new drug whose anti-cancer potential was developed at the University of Alberta and is set to begin human trials this year, thanks to newly published research.

The drug PCLX-001 is designed to selectively kill cancer cells by targeting enzymes involved in myristoylation, a process key to the cell signaling system that is often defective in cancer cells. The molecule was originally developed by the University of Dundee as a treatment for African sleeping sickness. U of A cell biologist Luc Berthiaume was the first to realize it could work against cancer.

For this study, Mackey and his collaborators examined breast tumors from more than 700 women who had participated in a worldwide clinical trial for another drug in 1998. They found that 28 per cent of the tumors contained the enzyme N-myristoyltransferase 2 (NMT2), and that the patients who had those tumors were more likely to die during the following 10 years.

"This shows that one of the targets of our drug, the enzyme NMT2, is clinically important to overall survival," said Mackey, who is also co-founder and chief medical officer of Pacylex Pharmaceuticals, the U of A spinoff company set up to develop PCLX-001.

The researchers also reported that breast cancer cells treated with PCLX-001 in the laboratory were less viable, and that the drug slowed tumor growth by 90 per cent in mice with human breast cancer. These results are similar to those reported last fall on PCLX-001's effect against lymphoma, a blood cancer which affects the infection-fighting cells of the immune system.

The clinical trial will take place in three Canadian centers, including the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, and will enroll patients with advanced and previously treated lymphoma, breast, lung, colon or bladder cancers. The aim is to find the optimal dose of PCLX-001 for effectiveness and safety.

"This will be the first time anyone has ever received PCLX-001 or a drug of this class," Mackey noted. "It's very exciting, but there are many unknowns.

Journal of Clinical and Cellular Immunology is pleased to inform you that the Journal is planning to launch its upcoming issue for the month of March 2021. We would like to invite you to submit your research work for publication in this international scholarly open-access journal. There are no space limitations or specific topics; journal publishes all manuscripts within the scope of the journal judged to be sound by editors.

Manuscripts submitted to the journal include, but are not limited to:

Systemic Lupus Erythmatosus

Cancer Immunology

Adaptive Immunity

Macrophage Polarization

Innate Immunology

Cellular & Molecular Immunology

Vaccine Development

Signal Transduction

Innate Immunity

Cancer Immunotherapy

Inflammatory Disorders

Medical Immunology

Diagnostic Immunology

Clinical Immunology

HIV Immunology

Allergy & Immunology

Immunomodulation

Multiple Sclerosis

Neuroinflammatory Diseases

Clinical & Vaccine Immunology

Clinical Experimental Immunology

 

Journal accepts all kinds of manuscripts like Original Research Articles, Expert Review Articles, Case Reports, Mini Reviews, Brief Reports, Communications, Letter to Editor, Short Commentaries and Editorials.

Journal of Clinical & Cellular Immunology is using Editorial Manager System for quality in review process. Editorial Manager is an online manuscript submission, review and tracking systems used by most of the best open access journals. Review processing is performed by the editorial board members of Journal of Clinical & Cellular Immunology or outside experts; at least two independent reviewers approval followed by editor's approval is required for acceptance of any citable manuscript. An annual review of Immunology Journal is also shared with authors.

JCCI reviews manuscripts within 21 days of submission and publishes accepted manuscripts online in press immediately regardless of issue publication date. 

Authors are requested to submit manuscripts at https://www.longdom.org/submissions/clinical-cellular-immunology.html or send as an e-mail attachment to the Editorial Office at: immunology@eclinicalsci.com (or) immunology@scholarlymed.com

Media Contact:
Mercy Eleanor
Managing Editor
Journal of Clinical and Cellular Immunology
ISSN: 2155-9899 | NLM ID: 101563152
Journal Impact Factor 2.3* (5 Year Journal Impact Factor)
E-mail: immunology@eclinicalsci.com
What’s App: +1-504-608-2390