The perfect origami figure is… a cancer treatment?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Pancreatic cancer is still a mystery for researchers. With very few treatments, it is a highly fatal disease. Most pancreatic cancers are caused by a single mutation in a protein called K-Ras. This tiny difference makes it difficult to stop the bad proteins WITHOUT harming the healthy ones. What can we do?
Enter Qinheng Zheng and team from UC San Francisco.
They developed a molecule that perfectly FOLDS around the mutation.
This folding allows the molecule to attach to the protein, turning off the bad protein. And stopping it from causing cancer! The molecule prevents tumor growth in laboratory cells and animal models. Without attacking healthy proteins!
This molecule could be an effective new drug for pancreatic cancer patients. And may help understand other cancer types.
Origami. It’s not just for summer camp any more! But are there cancer cures in those box stitch lanyards?
Reference: Zheng, Q., Zhang, Z., Guiley, K. Z., & Shokat, K. M. (2024). Strain-release alkylation of Asp12 enables mutant selective targeting of K-Ras-G12D. Nature chemical biology, 10.1038/s41589-024-01565-w. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-024-01565-w