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Antibiotic offers potential for anti-cancer activity

Date:
January 31, 2011
Source:
Indiana University School of Medicine
Summary:
An antibiotic known for its immunosuppressive functions could also point the way to the development of new anti-cancer agents.
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An antibiotic known for its immunosuppressive functions could also point the way to the development of new anti-cancer agents, researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine have reported.

The study determined that the compound, tautomycetin, targets an enzyme called SHP2, which plays an important role in cell activities such as proliferation and differentiation. Interestingly, SHP2 mutations are also known to cause several types of leukemia and solid tumors. The findings were reported in the Jan. 28, 2011, issue of the journal Chemistry and Biology.

The potential for developing anti-cancer agents grew out of an attempt to determine how the compound, tautomycetin, exerts its immune suppression activities, said Zhong-Yin Zhang, Ph.D., Robert A. Harris Professor and chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

The finding is also encouraging because SHP2 is a member of a large family of enzymes called protein tyrosine phosphotases (PTPs), which are important in the signaling processes that control all essential cellular functions. Dysregulation of PTP activity has been linked to several human diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and immune dysfunctions. But their makeup has made it difficult to find potential drugs to act on them, characteristics that have labeled the PTPs as "undruggable," Dr. Zhang said.

"So we have identified a lead -- a natural product produced by the bacteria Streptomyces -- that should serve as a foundation for the development of therapeutic agents for a large family of protein tyrosine phosphotase targets. Until now these targets, including SHP2 for leukemia and other cancers, have been deemed undruggable," he said.

Dr. Zhang is a member of the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center.

Funding for the research was supplied by the National Institutes of Health.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Indiana University School of Medicine. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Sijiu Liu, Zhihong Yu, Xiao Yu, Sheng-Xiong Huang, Yinggang Luo, Li Wu, Weihua Shen, Zhenyun Yang, Lina Wang, Andrea M. Gunawan. SHP2 Is a Target of the Immunosuppressant Tautomycetin. Chemistry & Biology, 2011; 18 (1): 101 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2010.10.015

Cite This Page:

Indiana University School of Medicine. "Antibiotic offers potential for anti-cancer activity." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 31 January 2011. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110129081537.htm>.
Indiana University School of Medicine. (2011, January 31). Antibiotic offers potential for anti-cancer activity. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110129081537.htm
Indiana University School of Medicine. "Antibiotic offers potential for anti-cancer activity." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110129081537.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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