Epigenetics Used to Reveal Why Cancer Drug Resistance Occurs
by Naba Yasir
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Nivolumab and pembrolizumab are examples of some of the new immunotherapeutic drugs that has made remarkable advancements in the path to cure cancer. These drugs have been tested on melanoma patients, patients who suffer from the most serious form of skin cancer. Although these drugs have worked wonders on many melanoma patients, the drug also has made no change or has eventually become resistant in many patients.
While researching what the cause behind this resistance could be, Dr. Chatterjee used epigenetics to try to unlock this secret. Epigenetic modification is when the DNA modification does not physically alter the DNA sequence, but changes the way the DNA functions or is expressed. DNA methylation is a process in epigenetics that can silence or express a gene.
One of the immune checkpoint mechanism of the cancer cells are proteins called PD-L1. PD-L1 is a protein that lays on the surface of cancer cells and can act as a block to immunotherapy.
DNA methylation usually turns the gene expression off. If the immune checkpoint PD-L1 expression was turned off, the protein could no longer act as a block to immunotherapy. However, research has shown that there is an international loss of DNA methylation which has resulted in the regulation of the immune checkpoint PD-L1 expression.
Scientists and researchers are now using this major advancement to further understand the melanoma patients resistance to immunotherapy and the broader reason behind cancer drug resistance.
Link for Article: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180629102554.htm
How can this research help future advancements in other fields of science?
How can this discovery pave a path for personalized and safer treatments for cancer patients?
Are there any other researches that you know that involves epigenetics?
Help understand in general why we become immune to medications and determine how some medications effect the body are ways this can advance future fields of science. This can help find a permanent cure to skin cancer patience instead of trying to find a new solution every few steps in the process. I personally do not know any researches with epigentics involved.
ReplyDeleteSamantha Fuller
Interesting that the percentages are not larger, but it also makes sense. The immune system and genetics are two things in our body we have a basic understanding of, but there is still so much we do not know.
ReplyDeleteUsing epigenetics to create treatments for melanoma patients is a smart solution because we can learn a lot disease through epigenetics. I think this type of research is super beneficial and can be applied to all types of cancer and other diseases. Epigenetics makes treatment more personal for patients, so if there is a huge success with melanoma patients this treatment could be a huge benefit for other types of cancer treatment.
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