Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine discover a new drug target for diseases linked to HTLV-1. Targeting enzymes leads to cell death by degrading a critical viral protein.
- Researchers from Penn State College of Medicine identified a new target for treating diseases associated with human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1).
- Blocking a class of enzymes called kinases leads to cell death by degrading Tax, a crucial protein for viral gene expression and cell survival in HTLV-1-infected cells.
- HTLV-1 is a retrovirus that infects millions of people worldwide, and around 10% of those infected develop adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) or a neuroinflammatory disease similar to multiple sclerosis.
- The study found that inhibiting the kinase KDR leads to the degradation of Tax, disrupting cancer-causing signaling pathways and causing infected cells to die.
- Targeting KDR with inhibitors could potentially reduce the viral load of HTLV-1, offering a new approach for treating ATLL and the associated diseases.
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Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Leukemia, Drug Target