Against AIDS and cancer

HIV drug suppressed the development of aggressive breast cancer – scientists

RIA NewsAmerican biologists have discovered that one of the well–known retroviral drugs – nelfinavir - not only suppresses the development of HIV in the cells of the human immune system, but also prevents the development of aggressive forms of breast cancer, according to an article published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (Shim et al., Selective Inhibition of HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Cells by the HIV Protease Inhibitor Nelfinavir; press version: HIV Drug Shows Efficacy in Treating Mouse Models of HER2+ Breast Cancer – VM).

"The relatively low toxicity of nelfinavir and the well-studied interaction of this drug with other drugs allow us to start clinical trials on patients with aggressive forms of breast cancer. Further research will help to test the effect of nelfinavir on other types of cancers and develop more effective analogues of this drug," explained Joong Sup Shim from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore (USA).

Shim and his colleagues turned their attention to nelfinavir after evidence emerged that this drug suppresses the development of skin, lung cancer and cell cultures extracted from tumors in the pancreas.

The authors of the article checked whether this substance could stop the growth of seven different cultures of breast cancer cells, and compared it with real anti-cancer drugs. Biologists paid special attention to those cells in whose genome the HER2 gene was damaged. The breakdown of this gene leads to the development of particularly aggressive and resistant forms of breast cancer.

It turned out that nelfinavir suppressed the development of cancer cell cultures with about the same effectiveness as real anti-cancer drugs when the genome of cancer cells contained the damaged HER2 gene. On the other hand, it had virtually no effect on cells that did not contain such a mutation.

Convinced of the effectiveness of the drug, Shim and his colleagues tested its work on live mice with a damaged immune system, in whose body one of four cancer cell cultures was implanted. After the appearance of sufficiently large tumors, the scientists added nelfinavir to the diet of their wards and monitored their body's reaction in the next four weeks.

As biologists expected, the use of nelfinavir stopped the growth of tumors and started the process of self-destruction of cancer cells in those cell cultures whose genome contained a damaged copy of HER2. Moreover, this substance suppressed the development of tumors even in cases when their cells were resistant to the effects of other anti-cancer drugs.

According to the researchers, the low toxicity and well-studied properties of nelfinavir make it possible to test its work in clinical trials today. In their next papers, Shim and his colleagues will try to find out whether this substance has other anti-cancer properties.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru08.10.2012