It’s difficult to overstate the physical, emotional, and financial toll that cancer takes on people around the world. Cancer regularly figures among the leading causes of death worldwide, and rates are increasing globally-- predicted to rise from 18 million to 40 million cases per year over the next decade. Increased cell growth and proliferation, as well as decreased cell attrition, are classic hallmarks of cancer. Chemotherapy is a mainstay of cancer therapy, but its efficacy varies widely between cancers and the treatment as a whole is largely non-specific, susceptible to resistance, and laden with toxic side effects. There is a need for new treatment paradigms, especially those that can target a specific signaling pathway.
Description
A number of studies implicate La-related protein 1 (LARP1) in the instigation of cell proliferation and as a key molecular switch in the onset and maintenance of several forms of cancer. For example, levels of LARP1 protein correlate with increasing disease progression in cervical cancer, high levels of LARP1 in hepatocellular-cancer tumor tissue correlate with tumor size and survival time, and LARP1 is associated with the proliferation of endometrial and lung cancer. Recent work has also implicated LARP1 in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2. University of Pittsburgh researchers have designed five small-molecule modulators that may alter the activity of the LARP1 signaling axis by binding to the LARP1 C-terminal RNA binding domain, yielding a therapeutic effect and preventing unregulated cell growth and proliferation.
Applications
· Treating cancers in which LARP1 signaling plays a role
Advantages
· No other molecules target LARP1
· LARP1’s downstream position in its signaling pathway may limit effects on other pathways, yielding fewer side effects and greater specificity
· Can work synergistically with other protein inhibitors
· May be effective against cancers that are resistant to drugs that bind to upstream targets
· May be effective against cancers that are resistant to chemotherapy
· Fewer toxic side effects than chemotherapy
· Wide range of applications
Invention Readiness
In vitro data
IP Status
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20240139191A1
