In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Navdeep Chandel and colleagues from Northwestern University report the effects of a SOD1 pharmacological inhibitor on non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. The inhibitor, called ATN-224, stunted the growth of human NSCLC cells in culture and induced their death. The researchers also found that ATN-224 inhibited other antioxidant proteins, which caused high levels of hydrogen peroxide inside the cells. The ability of cancer cells to produce hydrogen peroxide was required for ATN-224-dependent effects, because hydrogen peroxide activated cell death pathways.
Furthermore, ATN-224 induced cancer cell death and reduced tumor sizes in a mouse model of lung adenocarcinoma. ATN-224 dependent effects in animals were improved when the inhibitor was used in combination with another drug that activates programmed cell death.
This study suggests inhibition of antioxidants may be a viable chemotherapeutic option.
source : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131202121451.htm