Researchers develop peptide to target "chaotic" MYC protein in 75% of cancers

The endogenous opioids and their receptors are widely distributed throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems, particularly the parts of these systems that regulate pain, emotion, reward, stress responses, motivation, drug addiction, and autonomic control. The differential expression and location of the various receptor subtypes across different neurons account for the wide range of opioid-related behaviors. The activation of µ-opioid receptors is mainly known for playing a role in pain relief. Still, research has also indicated it may be involved in behaviors related to survival, such as appetite and reproduction. The activity of µ-opioid receptors is also known to play a critical role in responses to social stimuli by modulating responses to social rejection or social acceptance, for example. Activation of the δ-opioid receptors and κ-opioid receptors is also known to be involved in pain modulation. Also, studies have shown that NOP activation is involved in pain mechanisms and several behaviors related to psychological stress. Alterations in the endogenous opioid system are suspected to be involved in Parkinson's disease, seizures, neuroprotective mechanisms, and depression.

These finding support proceeding to clinical trials with COTI-2 in patients with cancers having p53 mutations. Dr. Mills has established that COTI-2 is potentially effective in a wide range of p53 mutation types.

I think we're only just scratching the surface at the moment. I think over the next couple of years, we'll start to see some major strides. Obviously, showing the effects on target identification takes some time with new molecules but, certainly, the repositioning effects should be seen in a few years. I think there is great promise in terms of being able to really tap into a much broader chemical space, so we can have a much wider and more varied chemical palette to be able to pick the best molecules for drug discovery from. Also, accelerating the ways in which we can look at the data and glean much more information from it can help us both in terms of patient selection for clinical trials and in terms of being able to pick up signals of efficacy and safety much earlier.

In the study, published in Scientific Reports, the researchers built on their earlier discovery of the peptide called AC253. This compound was tested in mice with AD. It was found to block the attachment of beta-amyloid to a brain cell receptor called the amylin receptor, and thus inhibit its toxic effects, as shown by an improvement in spatial memory. However, it is difficult to administer this compound because it doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier in large amounts, and is quickly broken down in the blood. The dosage must therefore be massively increased, pushing up the amounts required for efficacy and increasing the difficulty of administration, besides enhancing the chances of an immune reaction. One way out is to convert the formulation into a pill rather than an injectable form. The complex structure of AC253 makes this difficult as well. Instead, the team devised an ingenious solution. They cleaved the compound into smaller amylin peptides, or chains of 12-14 amino acids, and tested each for its anti-amyloid activity in old mice which showed signs of AD. In this way, they found two short peptides that had the same effects as the larger compound. In particular, the researchers identified a segment that was common to both peptides, namely, SQELHRLQTY.

Pittcon offers ease of networking, with a very large number of scientists in many different fields, all together in one location. It is easier to hear a wider variety of talks than at any other meeting I have been to, so the number of people you can access and talk to is much easier at Pittcon than virtually any meeting worldwide.