A new molecule called CUDC-907 has the capacity to selectively target what are called “zombie cells” in the body for assassination without harming other cells in the body that are not zombie cells. The molecule could become an anti-aging drug that might extend human life AND combat cancer.
These zombie cells contribute to tissues aging and adversely affect the healthy cells around them. Researchers from the University of Leicester in the UK and UOC (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya) in Spain developed the molecule. Professor Salvador Macip, dean of the UOC’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Molecular Medicine at the University of Leicester, said of the discovery, “The drug we identified is a powerful destroyer of old cells and its effect against some cancers is also now being investigated, so it could have a double effect: anti-cancer and at the same time, it could act against old cells that make the cancer reappear.”
The researchers tested the molecule of different types of human cells, finding that “dual inhibitor CUDC-907 eliminates a specific type of senescent cell with limited side effects.”
Macip added, “Perhaps an intensive dose of the drug would clean the brain and prevent the disease from progressing. It could also be useful in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, to slow its progress, rather than the aging itself.”
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