Scientists have discovered a new way to help colon cancer treatments work better by targeting a key protein interaction that makes cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy. The proteins RAD54 and BLM work together to repair DNA damage in cancer cells, allowing them to survive treatments like cisplatin, camptothecin, and oxaliplatin. By screening a library of existing drugs, researchers identified three FDA-approved medications that can break this interaction, making the cancer cells more sensitive to chemotherapy. These drugs not only reduced tumor growth in lab and animal models but also blocked the cancer cells’ ability to repair DNA damage, potentially offering a new approach to overcoming drug resistance in colon cancer.
Reference:
Kaur, E., Agrawal, R., Arun, R., Madhavan, V., Srivastava, V., Kumar, D., Rath, P. P., Kumar, N., Vedagopuram, S., Pandey, N., Priya, S., Legembre, P., Gourinath, S., Bajaj, A., & Sengupta, S. (2024). Small molecules that disrupt RAD54-BLM interaction hamper tumor proliferation in colon cancer chemoresistance models. The Journal of clinical investigation, 134(8), e161941. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI161941