University of Guelph

在与癌症这场旷日持久的游击战中，科学家们往往专注于寻找能够直接杀死癌细胞的“银色子弹”。然而，来自加拿大圭尔夫大学（University of Guelph）的一项突破性研究却另辟蹊径，他们不再试图直接攻击敌人，而是切断了敌人的“电力供应”。这项发表在权威期刊上的研究揭示了一种全新的治疗策略：通过破坏癌细胞内部一种名为“过氧化物酶体”（peroxisomes）的微小结构，可以诱发细胞内的能量危机，从而有效地让肿瘤停止生长甚至萎缩。如果把癌细胞比作一座疯狂运转的工厂，那么这项技术就是直接熔毁了它的备用发电机。 拆解癌细胞的“隐形金库” 为了理解这项发现的颠覆性，我们需要先潜入微观世界。在生物课本中，我们熟知线粒体是细胞的“能量工厂”。长期以来，癌症研究也主要集中在如何干扰线粒体上。然而，狡猾的癌细胞往往拥有多重生存机制。当线粒体受到攻击或营养匮乏时，它们会转向另一个不起眼的细胞器——过氧化物酶体。 过氧化物酶体通常被视为细胞的“垃圾处理站”，负责处理脂肪酸和消除有毒的过氧化物。但在快速分裂的癌细胞中，它的角色发生了质变。研究团队发现，这些微小的囊泡实际上充当了“特种燃料库”和“应急发电机”。它们通过代谢特定的长链脂肪酸，为癌细胞提供分裂所需的关键构建模块和能量支持。 圭尔夫大学分子与细胞生物学系的保罗·斯帕纽洛（Paul Spagnuolo）教授及其团队发现，癌细胞对过氧化物酶体的依赖程度远超正常细胞。这就像是一个贪婪的庞然大物，为了维持其疯狂的扩张，必须时刻保持满负荷的能量输出。这一弱点，成为了科学家们精准打击的靶点。 研究人员发现了一种能够破坏癌细胞隐藏的RNA能量中心并从内部阻止其生长的方法。图片来源：Shutterstock 团队筛选出了一种名为“Brunfelsamidine”的化合物。这种源自天然植物的分子展现出了惊人的破坏力：它并不直接攻击DNA，而是专门针对过氧化物酶体。在实验中，当癌细胞接触到这种化合物时，其内部的过氧化物酶体并没有简单地停止工作，而是发生了物理上的“溶解”或“熔毁”。随着这些关键代谢枢纽的崩溃，癌细胞迅速陷入了严重的代谢混乱，最终因缺乏必要的生存资源而停止分裂或死亡。 从白血病到实体瘤的广谱潜力 这项研究最令人兴奋之处在于其潜在的普适性。最初，研究团队是在急性髓系白血病（AML）模型中测试这一机制的。AML是一种极具侵袭性的血液癌症，其癌细胞以代谢极其活跃而著称，且极易对现有化疗药物产生耐药性。 实验数据显示，通过靶向过氧化物酶体，不仅有效地抑制了白血病细胞的增殖，更重要的是，这一过程似乎对健康的血细胞影响甚微。这是癌症治疗中梦寐以求的“选择性毒性”——只杀敌人，不伤平民。之所以能做到这一点，正是因为正常细胞并不像癌细胞那样处于“代谢过载”状态，因此对过氧化物酶体的依赖性较低，能够耐受这种干扰。 随后，研究的视野并未局限于血液病。在针对其他类型的实体肿瘤（如肺癌、卵巢癌等）的初步测试中，破坏过氧化物酶体的策略同样显示出了抑制肿瘤生长的潜力。这表明，过度依赖过氧化物酶体可能不是白血病的专利，而是许多高代谢率恶性肿瘤的通病。这一发现实际上揭露了癌症生物学中的一个普遍漏洞，为开发广谱抗癌药物打开了一扇全新的大门。 重新定义药物研发的战场 从科学发现到临床应用，道路依然漫长，但方向已经清晰。目前的癌症治疗方案，无论是化疗、放疗还是免疫疗法，往往伴随着严重的副作用，因为它们难以完美地区分敌我。而靶向细胞器（Organelle-Targeting）疗法的兴起，代表了精准医学的下一个前沿。 斯帕纽洛教授的这项成果，不仅鉴定出了一个新的药物靶点，更重要的是提供了一种“代谢干预”的新思路。传统的代谢疗法往往试图饿死癌细胞（比如切断葡萄糖供应），但癌细胞总能找到替代能源。而直接摧毁代谢机器本身的组件（如过氧化物酶体），则让癌细胞无路可退。 目前，研究团队正在深入解析这种“熔毁”效应的分子细节，试图弄清楚Brunfelsamidine究竟是如何触发过氧化物酶体解体的。同时，他们也在寻找结构更稳定、药效更强的类似物，以便为未来的人体临床试验做准备。 此外，这一发现也引发了关于药物再利用的讨论。自然界中是否存在更多像Brunfelsamidine这样的天然化合物，长期以来被我们忽视，却暗藏着攻击癌细胞软肋的能力？植物化学与合成生物学的结合，或许能加速这一筛选过程。 当然，乐观之余仍需谨慎。癌细胞的进化能力惊人，它们是否会进化出不依赖过氧化物酶体的生存方式？破坏过氧化物酶体长期来看是否会影响人体正常的脂质代谢？这些问题都需要后续的研究来回答。 但无论如何，这项研究已经点亮了抗癌地图上的一块盲区。它告诉我们，癌细胞并非无懈可击的钢铁堡垒，在其复杂的内部工厂里，依然存在着一击即溃的“保险丝”。只要我们找对了位置，即使是微小的分子，也能让庞大的肿瘤机器彻底停摆。对于全球数千万癌症患者而言，这无疑是在漫长黑夜中亮起的一束充满希望的微光。

Dr. Michael Bumby joins XORTX as Chief Financial OfficerCALGARY, Alberta, Dec. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- XORTX Therapeutics Inc. ("XORTX" or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: XRTX | TSXV: XRTX | Frankfurt: ANU), a late-stage clinical pharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies to treat progressive kidney disease, welcomes Dr. Michael Bumby, a biotech/pharma industry veteran, as its Chief Financial Officer replacing James Fairbairn, the Company’s current Chief Financial Officer. Dr. Bumby, DVM, MBA, is currently a director and audit committee chair of MediPharm Labs following their successful acquisition of VIVO Cannabis Inc. where Dr. Bumby was CFO for six years. Dr. Bumby brings over 20 years of finance and leadership experience in the biotech/pharma industry. He had a 14-year career at Eli Lilly, including roles in corporate finance and investment banking at Lilly’s global headquarters in Indianapolis leading international business development activities for early- and late-stage assets, as well as working as a regional CFO in Europe. He left Lilly to move back to Canada and began working as a public company CFO, initially at Antibe Therapeutics which he helped go public via an Initial Public Offering in 2013, and more recently as the CFO of Merus Labs, an international specialty pharmaceutical company where he co-led that company’s acquisition by Norgine B.V. in 2017 for $340 million. Dr. Bumby has experience with TSX, TSX-V and NASDAQ listed companies and has led Human Resources, IT, Legal, and operations functions as well as acted as corporate secretary for a number of public companies. Dr. Bumby holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Guelph, a lean six-sigma blackbelt, and an MBA from the University of Toronto. Anthony Giovinazzo, XORTX’s Chairman stated, “We are delighted to welcome Michael as XORTX’s CFO. His dual science-finance background and extensive business and drug development experience will help XORTX meet its near and longer term objectives.” Dr. Davidoff, XORTX’s CEO added, “On behalf of XORTX, I would like to express our gratitude to Jim Fairbairn for his excellence and professionalism in his role as CFO. We will miss Jim as a team member and friend. I look forward to working with Michael. His well rounded background in the biotech/pharma industry will be a valuable asset in the next stages of XORTX’s development.” In connection with the appointment of Dr. Bumby, XORTX has granted, in accordance with the Company’s stock option plan, 13,000 options to purchase common shares of the Company at an exercise price of $1.75 for a period of five years. About XORTX Therapeutics Inc. XORTX is a pharmaceutical company with two clinically advanced products in development: 1) our lead, XRx-008 program for ADPKD; and 2) our secondary program in XRx-101 for acute kidney and other acute organ injury associated with Coronavirus / COVID-19 infection. In addition, XRx-225 is a pre-clinical stage program for Type 2 Diabetic Nephropathy. XORTX is working to advance its clinical development stage products that target aberrant purine metabolism and xanthine oxidase to decrease or inhibit production of uric acid. At XORTX, we are dedicated to developing medications to improve the quality of life and health of kidney disease patients. Additional information on XORTX is available at www.xortx.com. For more information, please contact: Allen Davidoff, CEONick Rigopulos, Director of Communicationsadavidoff@xortx.com or +1 403 455 7727nick@alpineequityadv.com or +1 617 901 0785 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor Nasdaq has approved or disapproved the contents of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

LONDON--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Breast Cancer Canada, a national charity dedicated to saving lives through breast cancer research, is proud to announce a significant investment in the future of breast cancer research. The Breast Cancer Canada Translational Research Unit (BCC-TRU) at the London Health Sciences Centre has awarded eight new scholarships and fellowships at Western University for the 2024-2025 academic year, continuing a 25-year tradition of supporting groundbreaking research. This year’s recipients are advancing breast cancer research at London Health Sciences Centre and Western University. Awarded annually through a rigorous review process by Dr. Alison Allan's scientific committee, these scholarships and fellowships honour exceptional scientists, strong mentorship, and groundbreaking research with transformative potential. The recipients are: Zachary Freeman , MSc student in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics Noor Rizvi , MSc student in the Department of Biochemistry Jeri Spilberg , MSc student, Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology Lianghong Chen , PhD student, Department of Computer Science Nitara Fernando , PhD student, Department of Medical Biophysics Jared Wootten , PhD candidate, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics George Xie , PhD student, Department of Biochemistry Dr. Samir Fasih , Clinical Research Fellow, Division of Medical Oncology “As Breast Cancer Awareness Month approaches, this announcement serves as a reminder of our ongoing commitment to progress through science,” says Kimberly Carson, CEO of Breast Cancer Canada. “Through the BCC-TRU lab, we are proud to support London Health Sciences and pleased to celebrate the progress and accomplishments made in breast cancer for the last 25 years. The scholarships are not only an investment in breast cancer research, they are also an investment in the bright minds that will shape the future.” Dr. Samir Fasih, Medical Oncology Clinical Research Fellow, London Health Sciences Centre shares, “Receiving the fellowship from Breast Cancer Canada is a powerful opportunity for me to make progress, accelerate breakthroughs in metastatic breast cancer management, and gain invaluable mentorship from Canadian research experts.” The diversity of talent is matched by the breadth of their research focus. Enrolled in six different academic departments at Western University, these scholars are tackling critical aspects of breast cancer, including understanding, prevention, tracking, and treatment of metastatic breast cancer, as well as exploring precision medicine approaches to improve outcomes. Further details about the award recipients and descriptions of their projects can be found on the BCC-TRU website . To learn more about the projects and the people we fund visit Breast Cancer Canada breastcancerprogress.ca . About Dr. Alison Allan Dr. Alison Allan is the director of Breast Cancer Canada’s Translational Research Unit at London Health Sciences Centre and newly appointed Associate Vice-President (Research) at Western University. Dr. Allan is a distinguished oncology scientist known for her impactful research on breast cancer metastasis and new therapies. Dr. Allan has been a part of and holds a BSc in Molecular Biology and Genetics and a PhD in Biomedical Science from the University of Guelph. About Breast Cancer Canada Breast Cancer Canada is a national charity dedicated to saving lives through breast cancer research. With a focus on precision oncology (personalized care), it is the only national breast cancer organization in Canada that has a clear mandate to raise money for research and advocate and educate on the progress of new research evidence. The organization receives no government funding, meaning all research is funded through the generosity of donors. For more information visit, breastcancerprogress.ca .