Nectin-4 is a cell-adhesion molecule overexpressed in several tumor types, including breast, ovarian, lung, colorectal, pancreatic and urothelial cancer. Enfortumab vedotin (EV), an anti-Nectin-4 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) has shown a good objective response rate in pretreated patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma. However, this effect has been linked to on-target skin toxicity.
Gene editing strategies, from epigenetic engineering to cell reprogramming and genetic vaccines, are accelerating the development of new therapies that awaken the immune system to treat cancer, as presented last month in Rome at the 31st Annual Congress of the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT). Some of these advances are taking advantage of the conditions of the tumor microenvironment, where cancer cells coexist with immune cells, microorganisms and blood vessels.
Guangdong HEC Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. has reported compounds acting as GTPase KRAS and mutant inhibitors and thus reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Work at Acelink Therapeutics Inc. has led to the identification of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1)/Nrf2 interaction inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of cancer, lung, mitochondrial and sickle cell diseases, cardiovascular, inflammatory, neurological and renal disorders.
Mitochondria In Motion Inc. has identified new N-(trans-4-hydroxycyclohexyl)-6-phenylhexanamide derivatives acting as mitofusin activators and reported to be useful for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke, mitochondrial myopathy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, among others.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. has patented rapamycin analogues acting as peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase FKBP1A (FKBP12; Rotamase) ligands reported to be useful for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, graft-vs.-host disease, cancer, sarcopenia and more.
Scientists from INSERM and affiliated organizations presented findings from their work that aimed to investigate the involvement of heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) in the activation and pathological accumulation of parietal epithelial cells (PEC) during crescentic glomerulonephritis (CrGN).
The PLN-R14del mutation is often tied to dilated or arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, which can progress to end-stage heart failure. Cardiac phospholamban (PLN) plays a crucial role in calcium modulation in cardiomyocytes, which is disrupted by the PLN-R14del mutation.
The c-MYB oncogene plays a key role in hematopoietic cell differentiation and proliferation. Genetic abnormalities and dysregulation of MYB have been found in several cancers, including adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) (80% of cases), making it an attractive druggable target for ACC treatment.