This discovery, made by the Cnr-Ibpm of Rome, could lead to the identification of drugs capable of inhibiting the development of certain neoplasms.
A study of theInstitute of Molecular Biology and Pathology of the National Research Council (Cnr-Ibpm) in Romepublished in the journal Autophagy, identified a new moleculenamed SM15which manages to inhibit thecellular autophagyi.e. the process by which the damaged components of proteins are reused for the construction of new protein molecules. This process allows the cancer cellsin some cases, to survive.
“In cancer, autophagy plays a dual role, because it is able to promote the survival or death of cancer cells, depending on the type and stage of the tumor – explains Daniela Trisciuoglio, researcher of the Cnr-Ibpm and coordinator of the study -. This small molecule prevents a specific phase of autophagy and, at the same time, blocks mitosis, through which two daughter cells are generated from one cell from the same chromosomal set as the original one. This determines, for the tumor cells, the impossibility of reproducing and regenerating, causing their death”.
In particular, the study demonstrated that the molecule blocks the later stages of the autophagic process by acting on the SNAP29 protein, which drives the fusion between the material to be degraded and lysosomes, the organelles that break down proteins.
“The activity of SM15 prevents the degradation and recycling of deteriorated cellular materials, now toxic to the cell – he explains Francesca Degrassi, researcher of the Cnr-Ibpm -. During mitosis, i.e. the process of cell division, the molecule enters the regions responsible for the movement of chromosomes, producing highly unbalanced daughter cells in the number of chromosomes, which die in a short time”.
Degrassi adds: “This dual action of the SM15 molecule could have great relevance in the field of preclinical research. In fact, in tumor types that require functional autophagy to survive (such as glioblastoma and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas), this molecule could be an effective inhibitor of the process. Furthermore, it will allow the identification of new pharmacological treatments capable of inducing the destruction of tumor cells through two synergistic paths: death in mitosis and that determined by the inhibition of autophagy”.
Nurse Times editorial team
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