News Releases & Research Results Suppression of malignant transformation through the activation of β2 adrenergic receptor signals - For the development of novel oral cancer treatments with few side effects -

The results of collaborative research conducted by Professor Tetsuro Watabe, Assistant Professor Katarzyna Anna Inoue, and graduate student Shintaro Sakakitani (Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery) of the Department of Biochemistry, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University and Professor Hiroyuki Harada of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences and Professor Hiroyuki Kagechika of the Department of Organic and Medicinal Chemistry, Institute of Biomaterials and Bioengineering, Tokyo Medical and Dental University.

• Isoxsuprine, a β2 adrenergic receptor agonist, was demonstrated to suppress epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), involved in oral malignancy.
• Isoxsuprine was found to suppress EMT without inhibiting the signals of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), which has been identified as an inducer of EMT, thereby suppressing oral carcinogenesis.
• The results of this research project should apply to the development of new therapeutic agents for oral cancer.

This project was conducted with the support of the Project for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Evolution (P-CREATE) by AMED.

The results were published online in Cancer Science on November 19.

Sakakitan S., et al. Activation of β2-adrenergic receptor signals suppresses mesenchymal phenotypes of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells Cancer Science
DOI: 10.1111/cas.14670