BioCentury
ARTICLE | Distillery Therapeutics

Therapeutics: Potassium channel Kv10.2 (KCNH5; EAG2)

October 1, 2015 7:00 AM UTC

Mouse and patient sample studies suggest inhibiting KCNH5 could help treat metastatic medulloblastoma. In eight out of 10 patients with group 3 subtype medulloblastoma, levels of KCNH5 were higher in metastatic tumors than in primary tumors. In another medulloblastoma patient, thioridazine - which inhibits the related potassium channel Kv11.1 (KCNH2; hERG) - decreased metastatic tumor size compared with the pretreatment baseline. In a mouse xenograft model of medulloblastoma expressing high levels of KCNH5, shRNA knockdown of KCNH5 in tumors decreased metastasis compared with scrambled control shRNA. Also in the model, thioridazine decreased tumor growth and metastasis compared with vehicle. Next steps include studying the role of KCNH5 and testing thioridazine in models of other human cancers...