News Releases & Research Results Discovery of a new mechanism for inactivating tumor suppressor genes―Identification of the causes of epi-genomic abnormalities in adult T-cell leukemia and malignant lymphoma and development of new drugs―

News Releases & Research Results

Outline

The R&D achievements of the group of Specially Appointed Lecturer Makoto Yamagishi and Professor Kaoru Uchimaru of the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo.

The key points from the results of R&D are as follows

  • The complex movements of “EZH1” and “EZH2,” enzymes that induce epigenomic abnormalities in various cancers, were elucidated, and a new mechanism for inactivating tumor suppressor genes was discovered.
  • A new compound that simultaneously inhibits “EZH1” and “EZH2” was developed in collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. Using this compound, cancer cells can be specifically killed by normalizing their gene expression patterns in adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma (ATL) and malignant lymphoma, for which no effective treatment has been established.
  • Epigenomic abnormalities are a fundamental feature of various cancers. One of their causes was identified, and its potential application to drug discovery was suggested. Such research and development achievements may facilitate early therapeutic intervention and prevention.

This project was conducted with the support of Platform Project for Supporting Drug Discovery and Life Science Research and Research Program on Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases of AMED.

The results were published in the online version of Cell Reports on November 20.

Article

11/20/19

Last updated 11/20/19