"MYC and KRAS drive a huge fraction of human cancers - often aggressive ones - and effective drugs for them are extremely limited. We developed a one-step polymer chemistry solution. The protein mimetic polymers engage disordered proteins and bring them together with the cellular machinery that degrades it. That had never been done before, and it proved effective against some of the most challenging targets in cancer biology."
"Scientists developed protein-like polymers (PLPs) capable of grabbing proteins and directing them to the cell's waste-disposal machinery. From there, the proteins are degraded and disposed, triggering cancer cell death. In cellular cultures, the HYDRACs selectively sought and destroyed MYC and KRAS proteins across multiple cancer cell lines."
Northwestern University researchers created protein-like polymers (PLPs) called HYDRACs that selectively target and eliminate cancer-driving proteins by directing them to the cell's waste-disposal system. The polymers were tested on MYC and KRAS proteins, which drive uncontrolled growth in many cancers and resist conventional treatments like small molecules and antibodies. In cellular cultures, HYDRACs successfully destroyed these proteins across multiple cancer cell lines. In animal tumor models, MYC-targeted HYDRACs accumulated in tumors, reduced cancer cell proliferation, and stalled tumor growth. This novel polymer chemistry approach represents a breakthrough for targeting previously intractable cancer proteins and could be adapted to address other protein-related diseases.
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