Cyclis puts cancer in check

Most chemotherapeutics non-specifically activate checkpoint-mediated apoptosis, inducing damage that is toxic to both tumor cells and healthy, proliferating cells. But Cyclis Pharmaceuticals Inc. last week presented evidence that its lead clinical candidate, CO-501, selectively increases the activity of E2F in cancer cells, causing tumor-specific, checkpoint-mediated apoptosis.

In the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Chiang Li, vice president of research at Cyclis and colleagues at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston showed that beta-lapachone selectively kills tumor cells by activating the transcription factor E2F. ...