Tagged: cancer
CMD Paper in Science Translational Medicine
Congratulations to William Devine, Lauren Brown, and Professor John Porco on their recent paper in Science Translational Medicine entitled “Inhibiting the oncogenic translation program is an effective therapeutic strategy in multiple myeloma.”
Abstract: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a frequently incurable hematological cancer in which overactivity of MYC plays a central role, notably through up-regulation of ribosome biogenesis and translation. To better understand the oncogenic program driven by MYC and investigate its potential as a therapeutic target, we screened a chemically diverse small-molecule library for anti-MM activity. The most potent hits identified were rocaglate scaffold inhibitors of translation initiation. Expression profiling of MM cells revealed reversion of the oncogenic MYC-driven transcriptional program by CMLD010509, the most promising rocaglate. Proteome-wide reversion correlated with selective depletion of short-lived proteins that are key to MM growth and survival, most notably MYC, MDM2, CCND1, MAF, and MCL-1. The efficacy of CMLD010509 in mouse models of MM confirmed the therapeutic relevance of these findings in vivo and supports the feasibility of targeting the oncogenic MYC-driven translation program in MM with rocaglates.
NIGMS Awards a MIRA (R35) Grant to the Porco Research Group
The National Institutes of Health, Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), has awarded Professor John Porco and coworkers a five year MIRA (R35) grant entitled “Chemical Synthesis of Complex Natural Products for Translational Science.” The Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA-R35), an Outstanding Investigator Award, is a grant that provides support for all of the research in an investigator's laboratory that falls within the mission of NIGMS. Within these bounds, investigators have the freedom to explore new avenues of inquiry that arise during the course of their research. The goals of the MIRA (R35) research program are to continue chemical syntheses of bioactive molecules and expand efforts and capabilities in translational science. The MIRA effort effectively replaces two previous NIGMS-funded RO1 grants (Biomimetic Synthesis of Complex Natural Products (GM-073855) and Chemical Synthesis of Bioactive Flavonoid and Xanthone-Derived Natural Products (GM-099920) which were highly productive and led to 41 publications from 2010 – 2015. As part of the MIRA project, the Porco group will continue development of novel synthetic methodologies for concise entry to bioactive classes of natural products including oxaphenalenones, meroterpenoids, polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols, tetrahydroxanthones, and dimeric chromones. The project will also continue major emphasis on collaborations to study biological properties and mode of action (MoA) of target molecules for ultimate use as pharmacological therapies for human cancers as well as viral and bacterial illnesses.
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