Researchers from National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) and Taipei Medical University (TMU) yesterday said they discovered that the antidepressant bupropion can be used as an anti-metastasis drug for triple-negative breast cancer.
Cell and animal experiments have confirmed the finding, an NCTU team said at a news conference in Hsinchu, where the school is based.
Researchers are in the process of applying for patents in several countries, they added.
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
Biopsies of cancer cells and tissues confirm that nicotine receptors and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) proteins form close connections, a TMU team said.
Nicotine causes HER2 proteins to separate from their structures, causing more carcinogenic activity, the team said.
Bupropion is a nicotinic receptor antagonist.
The results of the study, which was completed by drug design and systems biology teams at NCTU’s College of Biological Science and Technology and TMU’s breast cancer research team, were published in the online journal Nature Communications on July 16, NCTU said.
The report is titled “Membrane protein-regulated networks across human cancers.”
Team members included NCTU College of Biological Science and Technology professor Yang Jinn-moon (楊進木) and assistant professor Lin Chun-yu (林峻宇); Academia Sinica’s Wu Yan-hwa (吳妍華); and TMU College of Medical Science and Technology professor Ho Yuan-soon (何元順) and assistant professor Lee Chia-hwa (李嘉華), NCTU said.
Membrane proteins are recognized as being closely related to many types of cancer, Yang said.
Figuring out how membrane proteins regulate biochemical pathways through protein-protein interactions, leading to the development of cancer, would help researchers in their search for a cure for cancer, he said.
This would have huge implications for the development of cancer diagnoses and targeted drugs, he added.
For the study, researchers used big data and artificial intelligence to analyze large-scale cancer gene expression maps, and designed regulatory networks for nearly 2,000 types of different kinds of membrane proteins in 15 types of cancer to explore the roles membrane proteins play in different cancers, and their importance, the NCTU team said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
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