BioCentury
ARTICLE | Cover Story

Cylene takes pol position in cancer

August 2, 2012 7:00 AM UTC

Australian and U.S. researchers have shown that a small molecule inhibitor of RNA polymerase I blocked tumor growth in mouse models of lymphoma.1 Cylene Pharmaceuticals Inc. and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre plan to start a Phase I trial of the inhibitor in Australia this year.

During tumorigenesis, cancer cells produce abnormally high levels of rRNA to create the ribosomes necessary for rapid protein synthesis and cellular proliferation.2,3 Because the enzyme RNA polymerase I (Pol I) drives the synthesis of rRNA, it has been hypothesized that inhibiting Pol I could be a way to indirectly block protein synthesis and prevent cancer cell proliferation...