Sep. 2, 1998 MADISON--In one of nature's remarkable flukes,
scientists in 1991 discovered a protein in frog eggs that proved
to be a potent killer of cancer cells. Now a new study by a
University of Wisconsin-Madison biochemist finds that a "cousin"
of that frog protein found in mammals has the same cancer-
fighting potential. Biochemist Ron Raines reports in the Sept. 1
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that
ribonuclease A - a digestive protein made by the pancreas -
could be genetically altered to kill cancer cells. The finding
opens a door to creating a new class of "natural" drugs aimed at
fighting cancer, without the side effects of standard
chemotherapy, he said. "The greatest advantage could be as a
potential new pathway for cancer therapy," Raines said. "With
this finding, we can also begin to think about tailoring
proteins to work more effectively against specific forms of
cancer." Raines' research questions begin with the 1991
discovery that a ribonuclease protein in the Northern leopar