Flagellin will protect healthy cells from radiation
American scientists have developed a drug that protects bone marrow and intestinal cells from radiation damage. The new drug can be used to reduce the side effects of radiation therapy in cancer patients, and also serve as an emergency aid for people who have been exposed to general radiation, the journal Science reports.
The death of healthy cells under the influence of radiation is associated with apoptosis – the mechanism of programmed death of damaged cells. At the same time, cancer cells have the ability to block the process of apoptosis in one way or another.
Andrey Gudkov and his colleagues from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Buffalo, New York) used one of these methods to block apoptosis of non-tumor cells. They developed a drug based on flagellin, a protein of flagella of bacteria living in the human intestine. Flagellin is able to block apoptosis by activating the so-called kappa-B necrosis factor (NFKB).
A drug called CBLB502 has been tested on mice and rhesus monkeys. Injections of the drug were made by him in the period from 15 to 60 minutes before general exposure to lethal doses of radiation. According to scientists, the drug significantly increased the percentage of surviving animals, providing protection of the bone marrow and gastrointestinal tract from damage. Administration of the drug an hour after exposure to high doses of radiation also led to an increase in animal survival, the researchers noted. At the same time, no side effects of its use were observed, they reported.
Additional experiments conducted by scientists have confirmed that the drug does not reduce the effectiveness of radiation therapy for malignant tumors. Thus, it can be used in the treatment of cancer patients, the researchers noted. Currently, the creators of the drug are waiting for permission from American regulatory authorities to conduct clinical trials of the drug. It is assumed that testing of the drug on healthy people may begin as early as this summer, Gudkov said.
Source: Drug Experiment Blocks Radiation Damage – AP, 04/10/2008