Scientists have figured out how to treat cancer using alpaca antibodies
Using antibodies derived from alpacas, a University of Kentucky research team has developed a new way to stop the growth of several types of cancer.While cancer researchers have long known that a protein called PRL-3 is linked to the growth of colon, breast, lung, skin and blood cancers, little is known about how it works. All because of a lack of tools to study it effectively.
Now, a team of scientists led by UK Cancer Center Marky researcher Jessica Blackburn has developed the first effective tool to specifically target PRL-3 using unique alpaca antibodies.
According to Blackburn, the discovery brings scientists one step closer to developing a drug that stops PRL-3 expression and cancer growth.
The PRL-3 nanobodies, developed in collaboration with UK-based Protein Core, showed promising results in laboratory tests reported in the journal PLOS ONE.
The nanobodies identified PRL-3 in cancer cells and attached themselves to the active site of the protein, potentially hindering its ability to stimulate cancer growth. In addition, the nanobodies reduced the interaction between PRL-3 and another protein, CNNM3. It promotes cancer growth in animal models.
"Nanobodies targeting other proteins are already being clinically tested in various human diseases, so the PRL-3 nanobody could be used as a drug to bind to PRL-3 and inhibit its activity," the scientists explain.
Alpacas are among the very few animals that produce nanobodies, also known as single-domain antibodies, which are 10 times smaller than conventional antibodies. Their size gives them the ability to penetrate the cell in ways that are inaccessible to conventional antibodies.