Simultaneous Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment.. A New Anticancer Drug

Targeting Carcinogenic Factor PLK1
Protein Structure-Based Drug Design
Minimizing Side Effects of Cancer Therapy

Thesis Cover. Firing a bullet (anticancer drug) that selectively targets PLK1, a protein essential for the survival of cancer cells

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A method has been developed to diagnose or treat cancer by utilizing enzymes expressed in various cancers such as lung cancer and melanoma. Since it targets only cancer cells, this treatment method can minimize the side effects of anticancer therapy, and if commercialized in the future, it is expected to open a new chapter in cancer treatment.

The research team led by Dr. Jeonggyu Bang of the Bio Convergence Research Division at the Korea Basic Science Institute announced on the 10th that they published the results of a joint study with the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, and the U.S. National Cancer Institute as a cover paper in the international journal Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.

PLK1-Targeting Anticancer Drug... Minimizing Side Effects

Anticancer drugs designed based on the three-dimensional structure of proteins and their anticancer effects using mice

Dr. Bang’s research team improved the anticancer drug developed in 2009 through this study. At that time, the team developed a peptide-based anticancer drug targeting the polo box domain of polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), a cancer-causing factor. However, this drug was not suitable for oral administration in clinical applications due to cell permeability issues. In this study, the drug was developed as a low-molecular-weight oral formulation. Notably, since this drug targets the PLK1 polo box domain, it has fewer side effects and can also diagnose cancer at an early stage.

PLK1 is a protein whose expression increases in various types of cancer cells, causing improper cell division and tumor formation. The polo box domain plays a crucial role in the survival of PLK1.

Both Diagnosis and Treatment Possible

Guna Skaran, postdoctoral researcher at the Korea Basic Science Institute (co-first author, third from the top left), and the research team.

The joint research team confirmed the anticancer effect by administering the developed anticancer drug to experimental animals with cancer. When the anticancer drug was injected together with a fluorescent substance, it was confirmed that it precisely targeted only the cancer area, proving that early cancer diagnosis is also possible.

Existing anticancer drugs have very diverse drug-binding sites and do not specifically target cancer cells. As a result, chemical anticancer treatments often destroy healthy cells as well, causing significant side effects.

Dr. Jeonggyu Bang stated, "Through this study, we developed an anticancer drug targeting a specific binding site of a cancer-causing protein, making it possible to deliver the anticancer drug precisely to cancer cells. This solves the problem of side effects caused by anticancer drugs destroying cells around cancer cells, and it can also be applied to the development of new cancer biomarkers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.