Indian Scientists Develop ‘Smart’ Cancer Drug Candidate to Target Tumor Cells
New Delhi — Indian scientists have developed a new cancer drug candidate designed to become active primarily inside tumor cells, potentially offering a more targeted treatment approach while reducing damage to healthy tissue.
The research was led by Dr. Asis Bala of the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, an autonomous institute under India’s Department of Science and Technology, in collaboration with Dr. K.P. Bhabak of the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati.
The drug candidate, known as RK-251, is designed to remain relatively inactive in normal tissue and activate inside cancer cells by exploiting higher levels of reactive oxygen species, or ROS, commonly found in tumors.
Traditional cancer treatments can damage healthy cells along with cancerous ones, contributing to significant side effects. The researchers are seeking to improve treatment selectivity by using the biological differences between healthy and cancer cells as a trigger for drug activation.
When RK-251 enters a cancer cell, elevated ROS levels are designed to activate the compound and release NBDHEX, a potent anticancer agent.
NBDHEX targets proteins involved in the survival and treatment resistance of several types of cancer cells. By releasing the agent primarily within the tumor environment, RK-251 could potentially concentrate its anticancer effects while limiting exposure to healthy tissue.
In preclinical experiments, RK-251 showed strong activity against aggressive triple-negative breast cancer cells while having considerably less effect on healthy cells.
Researchers also tested the compound in zebrafish embryos. The experiments showed no obvious signs of toxicity, while RK-251 displayed the expected fluorescence in the presence of reactive oxygen species, providing additional evidence supporting its proposed mechanism of action.
The findings suggest the ROS-responsive approach could improve the selectivity of cancer therapies, though RK-251 remains at the preclinical stage.
Additional laboratory research, safety testing and clinical trials would be required before the drug candidate could be considered for use in patients. (Source: IANS)
