In a new paper released today in Nature, BioFrontiers Institute
scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder, Tom Cech and
Leslie Leinwand, detailed a new target for anti-cancer drug
development that is sitting at the ends of our DNA. Researchers
in the two scientists’ laboratories collaborated to find a patch
of amino acids that, if blocked by a drug docked onto the
chromosome end at this location, may prevent cancerous cells
from reproducing. The amino acids at this site are called the
“TEL patch” and once modified, the end of the chromosome is
unable to recruit the telomerase enzyme, which is necessary for
growth of many cancerous cells. “This is an exciting scientific
discovery that gives us a new way of looking at the problem of
cancer,” Cech said. “What is amazing is that changing a single
amino acid in the TEL patch stops the growth of telomeres. We
are a long way from a drug solution for cancer, but this
discovery gives us a different, and hopefully more effective,
target.” Cech is the director of