F@h & scientists boost potency of cancer-treating protein
Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2012 3:18 am
There's a new blog post today:
http://folding.typepad.com/news/2012/03 ... -trea.html
The Stanford article that Pande cites is a bit technical, but let me see if I understand it correctly:
Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a very important protein and causes the growth of T cells, which as part of the immune system can attack pathogens and tumors, so in some cases it can indirectly cure cancer. Unfortunately its use is restricted due to serious side effects such as swelling of the lungs, which makes breathing difficult. IL-2 binds to the cells that cause this side effect differently than it binds to the T cells that attack cancer, so naturally scientists want to find a form of IL-2 that connects properly to the T cells without activating those other cells. When IL-2 binds to the T cell, it must first contact a rare protein which causes it to refold allowing it to bind to a second protein. Together with simulations from Folding@home, Garcia et al found a form of IL-2 called Super-2 that binds 300 times better to the T cells than the regular IL-2 and effectively bypasses contacting the first rare protein. Super-2 significantly outperformed IL-2 in indirectly attacking cancer, but has the same chances of activating those side-effect cells than regular IL-2, which means that a smaller dose will be equally effective at increasing T cells but won't set off those side effects. Super-2 is currently being tested in the hopes of fast-tracking its development on the way to human trials.
Pretty awesome I'd say!
http://folding.typepad.com/news/2012/03 ... -trea.html
The Stanford article that Pande cites is a bit technical, but let me see if I understand it correctly:
Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a very important protein and causes the growth of T cells, which as part of the immune system can attack pathogens and tumors, so in some cases it can indirectly cure cancer. Unfortunately its use is restricted due to serious side effects such as swelling of the lungs, which makes breathing difficult. IL-2 binds to the cells that cause this side effect differently than it binds to the T cells that attack cancer, so naturally scientists want to find a form of IL-2 that connects properly to the T cells without activating those other cells. When IL-2 binds to the T cell, it must first contact a rare protein which causes it to refold allowing it to bind to a second protein. Together with simulations from Folding@home, Garcia et al found a form of IL-2 called Super-2 that binds 300 times better to the T cells than the regular IL-2 and effectively bypasses contacting the first rare protein. Super-2 significantly outperformed IL-2 in indirectly attacking cancer, but has the same chances of activating those side-effect cells than regular IL-2, which means that a smaller dose will be equally effective at increasing T cells but won't set off those side effects. Super-2 is currently being tested in the hopes of fast-tracking its development on the way to human trials.
Pretty awesome I'd say!
Uhhh I really have no idea... Good thing there's Google. The first two links of "Interleukin-2 sick feeling" confirm your question. Since Super-2 is more effective, they can use a dose that doesn't activate those other lung cells. I didn't see anything about that in the article, but I would guess that the other side effects such as "that really crappy feeling when you're sick" would be reduced or eliminated as well. Hopefully...