Apoptosis
Tumor cells and AT-101
Normal cells in the body die after a certain lifespan through a process called programmed cell death, or apoptosis. The lifespan for a particular cell depends on the type of cell. For example, blood cells and cells lining the stomach have a much shorter lifespan than bone cells. Normal cells become cancerous by accumulating mutations (or mistakes) in their genetic material. These mistakes lead to the shutoff of apoptosis and allow cancer cells to live indefinitely and grow uncontrollably.
AT-101 is a member of an emerging class of cancer drugs that stimulates apoptosis in cancer cells by inhibiting the proteins needed to prolong cell survival. These proteins take their name from the B-cell leukemia/lymphoma-2 protein. A variety of Bcl-2 proteins belong to the Bcl-2 protein family. AT-101 is called a pan Bcl-2 inhibitor because it inhibits multiple Bcl-2 family members. AT-101 restores normal mortality to cancer cells by binding to, and interfering with, antiapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 protein family. Many breast, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), prostate, lung, colon, and B-cell lymphoma cancer cells have higher than normal levels of Bcl-2 proteins.
AT-101 was developed by Ascenta Therapeutics, Inc., in cooperation with academic alliances. It is currently available to patients participating in clinical trials. These trials are testing the efficacy of AT-101 in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), brain tumors (glioblastoma multiforme), gastrointestinal (esophageal) cancer, and other tumor types through research collaborations with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), cooperative cancer groups, and individual investigators.
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