Scientist presents paper on cancer prevention

HYDERABAD: The director of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Kolkata, Prof Siddhartha Roy, who delivered the 23rd Dr G S Sidhu Science Foundation Day lecture at CSIR-IIICT here on Thursday, presented some significant research findings related to cancer.
Speaking on 'Regulating gene expression by designed synthetic molecules', he emphasised the pivotal role of transcription factors in the area of cancer.Prof Roy presented his research findings on synthetic peptide mimics as transcription factors citing an example of p53 with chemical biology and structural biology approach.
"The presence of p53 prevents the onset of cancer. However, mutation or damage of this protein is known to cause cancer. Under these circumstances, a peptide-based mimic of p53 can prevent cancer," he said.
Prof Roy said that their findings also revealed that polyamide based peptide mimics were as efficient as endogenous transcription factors in preventing cancer progression in both cellular and animal models with no apparent side effects. "Hence this kind of approach will eventually evolve as a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of cancer," he said.