Front Oncol: new drugs have been found to inhibit the growth of breast cancer stem cells!

October 14, 2019 / bioun / -- scientists have found a new candidate drug that can starve or suffocate cancer stem cells, which paves the way for new therapies for breast cancer patients Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK It is predicted that one in seven women will be affected by the disease in their lifetime Photo source: https://cn.bing.com the University of Salford study found important clues about how to target mitochondria effectively Mitochondria usually provide all necessary energy for the proliferation and diffusion of cancer stem cells (CSC's) It is generally believed that in many different types of cancer, the growth of cancer stem cells is one of the main reasons leading to treatment failure, tumor recurrence and cancer spread CSC of anti chemotherapy and radiotherapy often leads to tumor recurrence The study, carried out in the translational medicine laboratory at the University of Salford, found a candidate drug, dodecyl TPP, which can efficiently target mitochondria in CSCs This method can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and spread in the treatment of cancer patients Michael P lisanti, Professor of translational medicine at Salford University, said: "our preclinical study has identified a new candidate drug targeting CSC mitochondria It was found that dodecyl TPP could effectively starve CSCs to death, and the effective concentration was as low as nanomolar level, which blocked them from using oxygen to generate energy in the form of ATP These findings provide an effective basis for future clinical trials in this field "Scientists at the University of Salford have also found five other substances that work in concert with dodecyl TPP These include two FDA approved drugs (doxycycline and niclosamide) and two nutritional health products (vitamin C and berberine) The study, led by Professor Michael P lisanti and Professor Federica sotgia, was published in the peer-reviewed journal of cancer research frontier in oncology This metabolic method, which uses a combination of drugs and targets CSCs efficiently, may improve the survival of patients by preventing tumor recurrence and metastasis About 90% of cancer patients died of cancer spread and tumor recurrence, which is the basis for the study of new mitochondrial inhibitors About mitochondria, which are the "power station" of cells, drive the production of cell energy in the form of NAD and ATP Studies have shown that dodecyl TPP, as a mitochondrial inhibitor, can starve CSCs to death ATP and NAD are high energy metabolites necessary for cell survival and reproduction About dodecyl TPP TPP, it contains a 12 carbon side chain, which is connected with TPP (triphenylphosphine) part TPP, as a chemical signal, targets drugs on mitochondria TPP is more effective in targeting the mitochondria of cancer stem cells and cancer cells, but it is largely excluded from the mitochondria of normal cells, reducing its potential toxicity to normal cells Reference: Ernestina Marianna de Francesco et al Dodecyl TPP targets mitochondria and potently eradicates cancer stem cells (CSCs): synergy with FDA approved drugs and natural compounds (vitamin C and berberine), Frontiers in oncology (2019) Doi: 10.3389/foc.2019.00615