A research team led by Professor Takayoshi Suzuki of Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine has developed a molecular technology that releases anticancer drugs only in cancer cells.Chemotherapy using anti-cancer drugs is one of the pillars of cancer treatment, but since it has become a problem to have side effects on normal cells other than cancer cells, development of anti-cancer drugs with few side effects It seems to be a big force.
According to the Japan Science and Technology Agency, in order to reduce the side effects of anticancer drugs, drug delivery systems that selectively act on cancer cells are being developed.The antibody-drug conjugate is mainly used for this.After binding to a cancer antigen, the antibody-drug conjugate is taken up into cancer cells and releases the drug, but since it is a large molecule containing protein, side effects of drug allergies and high production costs become issues. Was.
To solve these problems, Professor Suzuki and colleagues have begun to develop new small molecules that release drugs.Focusing on the fact that a specific enzyme is highly expressed in cancer cells such as breast cancer and leukemia and is deeply related to proliferation, we devised a new drug delivery molecule that releases a drug triggered by enzyme inhibition, and this delivery molecule And developed a complex that combines a breast cancer drug.In vitro experiments confirmed that this complex strongly inhibits the enzyme and accurately releases the therapeutic agent into the cancer cells.It showed little toxicity to normal cells.
This delivery molecule can also be used to develop complexes with other anticancer drugs.Professor Suzuki and his colleagues are planning to promote clinical application in the future, but they say that they have high expectations for the development of anticancer drugs with few side effects.
