A PhD student in Ontario has made a groundbreaking discovery that may have the potential to prevent cancer cells from spreading.
Caitlin Miron, a PhD student in the chemistry department at Queen鈥檚 University, has identified a chemical compound that may be able to 鈥渟witch off鈥� cancer cells in order to stop them from spreading.
Studying at the European Institute of Chemistry and Biology in Bordeaux, France, Miron was able to use advanced screening technology to examine a number of compounds from the Petitjean lab at Queen鈥檚 University. During her internship, she was able to discover one compound that binds well to four-stranded DNA structure, or guanine quadruplex, which has been linked to the development of cancer and other diseases.
She explained her discovery by comparing a single-stranded DNA to a necklace with beads that move along it until they hit a knot. The beads are the cell machinery that move along the necklace processing the DNA, she said.
鈥淵ou can go in and untangle that knot, but in this case someone has gone in there first and they鈥檝e used superglue to hold it together,鈥� Miron said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檝e discovered in that case is that glue.鈥�
By binding the newly discovered compound or 鈥渟uperglue鈥� to the quadruplex to secure the 鈥渒not鈥� in the chain, scientists may be able to prevent the cell machinery from reaching a particular section of DNA to process it, which would, in turn, prevent the growth and spread of cancer cells, Miron said.
Scientists have been researching quadruplex binders as a possible treatment for cancer for approximately 20 to 30 years, the PhD student explained. However, many of the known binders haven鈥檛 yielded results as promising as the one Miron has identified.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really exciting. It鈥檚 exciting to be on the forefront of this field,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here are other quadruplex binders out there, but what we鈥檙e seeing is that ours is very high-performing.鈥�
Miron鈥檚 discovery is still in its early stages in terms of commercial development. Her research team has just filed a patent for it and it will be another year before they鈥檙e able to finalize it into a formal patent, she said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e still, at this point, looking at developing the initial hit compounds to see, 鈥楥an we improve targeting to cancer cells? Can we improve entry into the cells through a membrane?鈥欌�� Miron said.
The PhD student expects it will take another five to eight years before the compound is developed enough for it to be used commercially.
In the meantime, Miron is being honoured with an award for Outstanding Innovation , a national not-for-profit organization promoting Canadian research, which will be presented to her at a ceremony in Ottawa on Tuesday.
