Scientists discover molecule that destroys pancreatic cancer cells

A little molecule named PJ34 can cause cancer cells to self-destruct, according to an Israeli study published recently in the biomedical journal Oncotarget. Prof. Malka Cohen-Armon and her team at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine did their experiment using xenografts — transplantations of human pancreatic cancer into mice. The mice’s immune systems were compromised so that their bodies wouldn’t reject the transplanted cells. In collaboration with Dr. Talia Golan’s team at the Cancer Research Center at Sheba Medical Center, the scientists injected PJ34 into the mice for 14 days in a row.

PJ34 originally was developed to treat stroke. But it has been found to have a powerful effect on human cancer cells. The molecule causes something to go wrong during cell duplication, leading to rapid cell death. “In research published in 2017, we discovered a mechanism that causes the self-destruction of human cancer cells during their duplication (mitosis) without affecting normal cells,” explained Cohen-Armon. “We have now harnessed this information to efficiently eradicate human pancreatic cancer cells in xenografts.”

Tumors practically disappeared

A month after the molecule was administered, the number of cancer cells in the mice’s tumors were found to be reduced by 80 to 90 percent. One mouse’s tumor completely disappeared.-- More...