Global Cancer News

How cancer drugs find their targets could lead to a new toolset for drug development

In the watery inside of a cell, complex processes take place in tiny functional compartments called organelles. These compartments are bound by thin membranes. But in the past few years, research at Whitehead Institute and elsewhere has shown that there are other cellular organelles held together without a membrane. These organelles, called condensates, are tiny droplets which keep certain proteins close together amidst the chaos of the cell, allowing complex functions to take place within. A new study shows the mechanism by which small molecules, including cancer drugs, are concentrated in these droplets — a finding that could have implications for the development of new cancer therapeutics. If researchers could tailor a chemical to seek out and concentrate in one kind of droplet in particular, it might have a positive effect on the delivery efficiency of the drug.

 

To learn more, please go to: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200618150308.htm