UF researchers identify new cancer-killing compounds
Similar to the way one bad apple can spoil the bunch, killing cancerous cells is difficult to accomplish without harming healthy cells in the process.
Collaborators, including faculty in the University of Florida colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy and Liberal Arts and Sciences recently published research that brings scientists one step closer to finding a safe, effective treatment for certain cancers.
Senior study author Brian Law, Ph.D., and his team began by looking at death receptor 5, or DR5, a cell surface receptor that, when activated by a molecule called tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing ligand, or TRAIL, can be triggered to activate cell death. Scientists discovered TRAIL in the 1990s as one of the earliest ways scientists could target cancer cells without harming healthy cells surrounding them.
