Cervical cancer (CaCx) remains one of the most frequent female malignancies, causing over 300,000 deaths every year. Persistent infection with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV), particularly HPV16 and HPV18 strains, drives oncogenesis and tumor maintenance through continual expression of HPV oncogenes E6 and E7. A potential strategy to overcome limitations of current treatments is the development of targeted therapies that exploit alterations in gene expression in CaCx.
A new isoform of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) – cancer-associated PCNA (caPCNA) – that is specifically expressed in cancer tissues has been reported. Because cancer cells and HIV-infected cells have similar features, researchers from City of Hope National Medical Center tested the anit-HIV effects of a small-molecule compound, AOH-1996, that targets caPCNA.
A newly described small molecule inhibitor called AOH-1996 targets a cancer-associated isoform of PCNA (caPCNA), leading to a very broad therapeutic window. Researchers at City of Hope, a cancer research and treatment organization in California, reported on AOH-1996 in the Aug. 1, 2023, online edition of Cell Chemical Biology. Genes involved in replication and repair pathways are essential for the growth and survival of cancer cells. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is a key player in DNA replication via a homotrimer formation that acts as a molecular sliding clamp around the DNA double helix.
