Cell Biotech Identifies Mechanism of Action for Oral Colorectal Cancer Treatment 'PP-P8' Developed from Microorganisms

Cell Biotech announced on the 10th that it has published research elucidating the mechanism of action (MOA) of the colorectal cancer new drug ‘PP-P8’ in the SCI-level journal International Journal of Molecular Sciences (IF: 6.208). As a leading global journal in the field of molecular sciences, this publication is said to have advanced the potential for microbiome anticancer drug research and development (R&D) to a new level.

Schematic diagram of the anticancer mechanism of P8 protein derived from probiotics
[Photo by Cell Biotech]

Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s approval of the first microbiome therapy last year and the approval of an oral treatment in April, interest in microbiome therapies has been rising recently. However, drugs utilizing live microorganisms face challenges in clearly elucidating their mechanisms of action, leading to frequent failures.

In response, Cell Biotech, which is developing PP-P8 as the first-in-class oral gene therapy new drug for colorectal cancer based on microbiomes using kimchi lactic acid bacteria residing in the intestines of Koreans, explained that this study clarified the drug’s mechanism of action. Cell Biotech’s R&D Center confirmed that the anticancer protein P8 secreted from PP-P8 penetrates colorectal cancer cells and inhibits cancer cell proliferation. Once inside the colorectal cancer cells, P8 binds to the cell cycle arrest target GSK3β, which is involved in colorectal cancer proliferation, and effectively reduces the expression of genes promoting colorectal cancer growth. This leads to cell cycle arrest and ultimately inhibits the proliferation of colorectal cancer cells, revealing the anticancer mechanism.

They also confirmed a mechanism by which P8 penetrates not only colorectal cancer cells but also the cell nucleus to exert anticancer effects. P8 binds to KPNA3, which is involved in protein transport between the cytoplasm and nucleus, and translocates into the nucleus of colorectal cancer cells. Once inside the nucleus, P8 directly binds to glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3β DNA, suppressing GSK3β expression, inducing cell cycle arrest, and inhibiting colorectal cancer cell proliferation.

Dr. Byeongcheol Ahn of Cell Biotech’s R&D Center stated, “Successfully proving the mechanism of action of PP-P8 is a major achievement that elevates Korea’s microbiome therapy research and development capabilities to the next level. PP-P8 is developed as an oral drug, offering high convenience of administration and delivering the drug directly to the intestines without side effects, so it is expected to have high therapeutic efficacy.”

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