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Harnessing Antioxidant Properties
Against Cancers
Nobel laureate Andrew V. Schally, Ph.D., M.D.h.c., D.Sc.h.c., distinguished professor of pathology at the Miller School, continues to lead groundbreaking research. One of the latest discoveries to come out of his laboratory could lead to novel therapies against various cancers as well as neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s. Schally, a distinguished medical research scientist in the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Nektarios Barabutis, M.Sc., Ph.D., research associate professor of pathology at the Miller School and Miami VA Medical Center, have discovered the antioxidant activity of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) antagonists in cancers. Their research was published in the December 8 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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| Nektarios Barabutis, M.Sc., Ph.D., and Andrew V. Schally, Ph.D., M.D.h.c., D.Sc.h.c., have discovered the antioxidant activity of GHRH antagonists in cancers. |
Growth hormone-releasing hormone normally binds to receptors in the pituitary gland, stimulating the release of growth hormone, which induces normal tissue growth. However, GHRH also acts as a growth factor in various tumors. For 15 years Schally has been developing GHRH antagonists that block the action of GHRH and consequently inhibit the growth of cancer.
Oxidants are generated from our own bodies and some external sources, and as we get older, they build up. The accumulation of oxidants in the body is called oxidative stress, which contributes to the process of aging and the development of cancer.
In this study, Schally and Barabutis tested the antioxidant activity of GHRH antagonists on the LNCaP human prostate cancer cell line. They discovered that GHRH antagonists inhibited the growth of LNCaP prostate cancer cells by reducing the amount of free radicals in the cells, making it the first demonstra-tion that GHRH antagonists possess antioxidant activity.
Besides providing novel approaches to cancer treatment, this discovery could have other potential therapeutic applications. Increased oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes as well as in development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
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