Rome, 28 March 2024 (Agenbio) – The results of a study coordinated by the Institute of Biomedical Technologies of the Cnr have shown that it is possible to reduce the mass of colorectal cancer by acting on a protein complex known as cohesin. The data, obtained from the inhibition of the SMC1A gene in mice, could favor the development of new anti-tumor treatments.
«The new approach consists in administering synthetic RNA molecules, called “short hairpin RNA” or shRNA for short, capable of silencing the SMC1A gene, in order to reduce protein levels within the tumor cell. At the same time – explains Antonio Musio, Cnr-Itb researcher and coordinator of the study – we also administered bevacizumab to the mice, an anti-tumor drug made up of a monoclonal antibody, which allowed us to enhance the effects of the RNA-based therapy. Overall, the treatment increased the survival of the treated animals and reduced the mass of the carcinoma. This effect seems to be due to the fact that the treatment causes chromosomal abnormalities in the tumor cells, which therefore die.”
The research also involved the Irccs San Martino Polyclinic Hospital, the Irccs Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, the University of Insubria of Varese, the Institute of Genetic and Biomedical Research of the Cnr of Milan and the University of Genoa.
The results, published in the Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research, were made possible thanks to the support of the AIRC Foundation for cancer research. (Agenbio) Etr 12:00.
