Introgen's INGN 241 Shows Synergy With Heat Shock Protein Inhibitors
Tuesday January 9, 1:00 pm ET
AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Results from a new Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: INGN - News) study have demonstrated that its INGN 241 cancer therapy induces human lung cancer cells to undergo apoptosis, or programmed cell death, via newly discovered mechanisms of action.
The preclinical study announced today documented the synergistic action of INGN 241 and a promising new class of tumor-targeted drugs called heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibitors. In the study, the combination of INGN 241 and two Hsp90 inhibitors resulted in the enhancement of cell death in lung cancer cells.
Introgen has studied the various ways in which INGN 241 may be used in the treatment of cancer and this combination treatment offers promise for improving efficacy using low toxicity drugs for lung cancer.
The study was performed by Dr. Abujiang Pataer, M.D., PhD, assistant professor, and Dr. Stephen Swisher, professor, both in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, in collaboration with Introgen scientists. The study is published in the current issue of Cancer Gene Therapy.
Dr. Sunil Chada, Introgen's associate vice president of Clinical Research and Development said, "The Hsp90 inhibitors are a promising new class of drugs that have recently entered clinical trials. The synergistic results found by the combination of INGN 241 and this class of tumor-targeted drugs are encouraging and warrant further investigation."
In the study, the Hsp90 inhibitors geldanamycin (GA) and 17-AAG (17-N- Allylamino-17-Demethoxygeldanamycin) were combined with INGN 241 and killing of lung tumor cells evaluated. The combination treatment proved to be highly synergistic as significant increased tumor cell killing was observed when INGN 241 was added to GA or 17-AAG treatment. Additional studies were performed to evaluate the ability of tumor cells to migrate and metastasize; the combination treatment dramatically inhibited tumor cell movement, suggesting an anti-metastatic effect.
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