Hybrid Drug Targets Epigenetic Changes in Melanoma Cells

Source: Gen, January 2018

Actively targeting specific genetic mutations that give rise to cancer is challenging enough for researchers and drug manufacturers, but trying to target changes that arise due to differential expression and regulation of gene products takes the concept of challenging to a new level. Yet, that is exactly what a team of researchers from Boston University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Università di Pavia, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Leicester has just accomplished using a newly developed compound that successfully inhibits the growth of melanoma cells by targeting specific epigenetic-modifying proteins.
Findings from the new study—published today in Nature Communications in an article entitled “Targeting the CoREST Complex with Dual Histone Deacetylase and Demethylase Inhibitors”—describes how the novel compound, dubbed corin, specifically targets these epigenetic changes in cells and could, therefore, provide significant improvements in patients without unwanted side effects.
“It is anticipated that this novel compound will have significant efficacy in human melanomas and other cancers either as a stand-alone therapy or in combination with other targeted or immune-based therapies," explained co-senior study investigator Rhoda Alani, M.D., chair of dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM).