Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) successfully treated a common type of colorectal cancer tumor with a cholesterol inhibitor drug, demonstrating a promising treatment for the disease in animal experiments.
University of Illinois Cancer Center member Wonhwa Cho, PhD, was the senior author of the study, published in Nature Chemical Biology, that found cells that have a mutation in the APC gene, which is common in colorectal cancer, have elevated levels of cholesterol on the inside of their membranes. By inhibiting this cholesterol’s activity, the researchers were able to block it from activating cellular pathways that lead to the formation of tumors.
“We are finally able to control cholesterol-induced cancer progression using the molecule that can block the cellular function of cholesterol, which has never been done before,” said Cho, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at UIC and part of the Cancer Center Translational Oncology Research Program. The Cancer Center is part of UIC and its UI Health academic health system.
Read more about the study and listen to a story summary at UIC Today.
