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Use of hecate-chorionic gonadotropin beta conjugate in therapy of lutenizing hormone receptor expressing gonadal somatic cell tumors

Rivero-Muller, A ; Vuorenoja, S ; Tuominen, M ; Waclawik, A ; Brokken, Leon LU ; Ziecik, A J ; Huhtaniemi, I and Rahman, N A (2007) In Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology 269(1-2). p.17-25
Abstract
Improvement of cancer treatment is a major challenge of medical research. Despite the immense efforts made in the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, cancer remains a major concern and cause of morbidity and mortality. Most of the modern anti-neoplastic therapies have severe side effects, and tumor cells often develop drug resistance. There is promise in the new generation of treatments (gene therapy, immunotherapy, vaccines, etc.) that are under development, but the efficacies and side effects of such therapies have so far been disappointing. Receptor-based therapies are not new, but many normal cells also present the same receptors reducing the specificity of such approaches. Several lytic peptides have been investigated because of... (More)
Improvement of cancer treatment is a major challenge of medical research. Despite the immense efforts made in the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, cancer remains a major concern and cause of morbidity and mortality. Most of the modern anti-neoplastic therapies have severe side effects, and tumor cells often develop drug resistance. There is promise in the new generation of treatments (gene therapy, immunotherapy, vaccines, etc.) that are under development, but the efficacies and side effects of such therapies have so far been disappointing. Receptor-based therapies are not new, but many normal cells also present the same receptors reducing the specificity of such approaches. Several lytic peptides have been investigated because of they appear to kill cancer cells due to changes of their membrane potential. Thus, linking receptor-specific ligands to lytic peptides is expected to augment the specificity of targeting and decrease the toxicity of lytic peptides on normal cells. One such polypeptide is hecate (an analogue to the bee venom main component, melittin) that preferentially kills cancer cells at low doses. When this peptide is fused with the 81-95 amino acid fragment of chorionic gonadotropin-beta (CGbeta) subunit (hecate-CGbeta), it targets cells expressing luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR), even at very low doses, or when LHR is expressed at low level. Our recent data showed that this peptide conjugate is efficient in destroying LHR-positive cells in xenografts and more importantly in transgenic mouse models developing LHR-positive somatic cell tumors in gonads. The mechanism of action of hecate-CGbeta after binding to LHR is destruction of cell membranes resulting in rapid cell death by necrosis with minimal side effects. This review summarizes our findings on the action of this novel peptide and considers the future potential of this family of targeting peptides in the treatment of neoplasias. (Less)
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author
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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology
volume
269
issue
1-2
pages
17 - 25
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000246001200004
  • scopus:33947574542
ISSN
1872-8057
DOI
10.1016/j.mce.2006.11.016
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
c1d8521b-cbdd-49e8-ab10-3d4a95bb53d3 (old id 1298589)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 11:21:18
date last changed
2022-01-29 21:41:52
@article{c1d8521b-cbdd-49e8-ab10-3d4a95bb53d3,
  abstract     = {{Improvement of cancer treatment is a major challenge of medical research. Despite the immense efforts made in the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, cancer remains a major concern and cause of morbidity and mortality. Most of the modern anti-neoplastic therapies have severe side effects, and tumor cells often develop drug resistance. There is promise in the new generation of treatments (gene therapy, immunotherapy, vaccines, etc.) that are under development, but the efficacies and side effects of such therapies have so far been disappointing. Receptor-based therapies are not new, but many normal cells also present the same receptors reducing the specificity of such approaches. Several lytic peptides have been investigated because of they appear to kill cancer cells due to changes of their membrane potential. Thus, linking receptor-specific ligands to lytic peptides is expected to augment the specificity of targeting and decrease the toxicity of lytic peptides on normal cells. One such polypeptide is hecate (an analogue to the bee venom main component, melittin) that preferentially kills cancer cells at low doses. When this peptide is fused with the 81-95 amino acid fragment of chorionic gonadotropin-beta (CGbeta) subunit (hecate-CGbeta), it targets cells expressing luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR), even at very low doses, or when LHR is expressed at low level. Our recent data showed that this peptide conjugate is efficient in destroying LHR-positive cells in xenografts and more importantly in transgenic mouse models developing LHR-positive somatic cell tumors in gonads. The mechanism of action of hecate-CGbeta after binding to LHR is destruction of cell membranes resulting in rapid cell death by necrosis with minimal side effects. This review summarizes our findings on the action of this novel peptide and considers the future potential of this family of targeting peptides in the treatment of neoplasias.}},
  author       = {{Rivero-Muller, A and Vuorenoja, S and Tuominen, M and Waclawik, A and Brokken, Leon and Ziecik, A J and Huhtaniemi, I and Rahman, N A}},
  issn         = {{1872-8057}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1-2}},
  pages        = {{17--25}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology}},
  title        = {{Use of hecate-chorionic gonadotropin beta conjugate in therapy of lutenizing hormone receptor expressing gonadal somatic cell tumors}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mce.2006.11.016}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.mce.2006.11.016}},
  volume       = {{269}},
  year         = {{2007}},
}