A Bihar-born scientist makes groundbreaking research in new therapies to treat breast and pancreatic cancer.

                                                                                                                

Anti-CCN1 antibody [3H3] (ab115541)

                                                                                                                                                  DARBHANGA: A Bihar-born scientist is member of a small team which has identified a new gene, CCN1, and new biological pathways that help in healing pancreatic cancer.                                                                    
Dr Inamul Haque, a native of Supaul Bazaar, Biraul, in Darbhanga district, is an assistant professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, USA, and investigated the biochemical activity and the molecular targets of CCN1 in pancreatic cancer cells. The study was published recently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry and accepted by American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology meeting, 2013, held at Boston, USA.

The lead author of the study, Dr Haque said, "The treatment of this disease has largely been unsuccessful due to higher resistance offered by pancreatic cells to conventional drugs. Therefore, our aim was to make these pancreatic cells more sensitive towards drugs. We have identified CCN1 as a key regulator for drug resistance and our studies have resolved how the CCN1 system becomes rewired at the molecular and cellular levels to promote pancreatic cancer."                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                          During the study, the researchers used mice in which human pancreatic cancer cells with or without CCN1 gene had been placed. The tumours in mice having CCN1 positive cancer cells began growing in less than a week, while no tumor was formed even three weeks after the placement of genetically engineered CCN1-negative cancer cells.      
                                                                                                                                                                         Dr Haque said, "When we blocked the CCN1 pathway, the stem cells were unable to self-renew, which resulted in long term and irreversible impairment of tumour growth. In other words, the cancer was permanently shut down."                                                                                                                              
His mentor, Dr Sushanta Banerjee explained that this finding is valuable in both scientific and clinical aspects. "Scientifically, we identified the molecular mechanism of local invasiveness in pancreatic cancer. Clinically, our results provide a drug-able target, CCN1, for developing therapeutic strategy against advanced pancreatic cancer. This study will provide important information for developing the personalized medicine of pancreatic cancer."

source :TOI