Download ARTS-based Therapy: A Frontline Defense Against Cancer

ARTS-based Therapy:
A Frontline Defense Against Cancer
Dr. Sarit Larisch
The Laboratory for Cell Death and Cancer Research
The Department of Biology
The University of Haifa
July 2010
The Department of Biology at the University of Haifa is at the forefront of innovative
research in the fight against cancer. At the Laboratory for Cell Death and Cancer Research,
Dr. Sarit Larisch is currently developing a revolutionary type of cancer therapy in the form of
novel, selective anti-cancer drugs, termed ARTS-based drugs. ARTS-based cancer therapy
is expected to kill cancer cells with high efficiency and without major side effects. Since it
fixes a defect occurring in many different types of cancer cells, the therapy has the potential
to cure a wide range of cancers, including melanoma, leukemia, breast, liver and ovarian
cancer. ARTS-based therapies will also be useful in treating diseases Parkinson's and
Alzheimer's diseases, two diseases characterized by excessive cell death. The Department
of Biology at the University of Haifa is the only research facility in the world focusing on this
type of state-of-the-art cancer treatment.
What is ARTS?
All cells in our body have the ability to
C ells that lose AR TS turn into Canc er C ells
self-destruct by activating an intrinsic
cell
suicide
program
called
"Apoptosis," which greatly limits the
accumulation
of
damaged
potentially dangerous cells.
and
Cancer
cells, however, can acquire resistance
B loo d sa m ples f rom :
Healthy c o nt rols
Cancer patients
to cell death by deactivating cell
suicide pathways.
Today, nearly all anti-cancer therapies such as chemotherapy and
radiation act by activating the apoptosis pathways in cancer cells. ARTS (Apoptosis-Related
Protein in TGF Beta- Signaling Pathways) is a protein discovered by Dr. Larisch that cells use
to initiate cell death.
ARTS kills cancer cells in a distinct and unique way. ARTS induces cell death through binding
and degrading IAPs (Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins). IAPs inhibit the activity of enzymes
which execute normal cell death process. If one can counteract IAPs effectively, proper cell
death process can be restored. IAP-antagonists bind IAPs and promote cell death through
release of inhibited enzymes. There are several IAP–antagonists under development by
various labs and pharmaceutical companies.
University of Haifa
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ARTS is present in virtually all normal cells and
promotes cell death in response to regulatory
death signals. ARTS has the ability to transmit
the last irreversible order of destruction to the
cell. Cells without ARTS protein lose their ability
to die and can become cancerous cells with the
potential for "unlimited" life and propagation.
Dr. Larisch has found that the ARTS protein is absent in the majority of leukemic children
and lymphoma patients. When ARTS was added to leukemia cells, as well as other types of
cancer cells, the cells' ability to die was restored by reactivating the death machinery in
these cells.
Restoring the Body's Natural Defense Mechanisms
According to Dr. Larisch's research, ARTS leaves normal cells intact and acts preferentially
against cancer cells. Even when a high concentration of ARTS (five times higher than the
norm) is introduced into normal cells, they remain intact. Therefore, Dr. Larisch's research
suggests that ARTS treatment is selective and acts preferentially against cancer cells. As an
aberrant cell suicide mechanism is a key feature of most types of cancers, treatment can be
developed to target most types of cancers. This discovery has important implications for
cancer medications.
ARTS-based therapy could restore our body's natural defense
mechanisms to fight cancer. Dr. Larisch has already discovered first-generation small ARTSbased peptides that penetrate cancer cells and kill them efficiently.
ARTS and the Future
Dr. Larisch discovered the ARTS protein over ten years ago while completing her postdoctorate fellowship at the National Cancer Institute (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. Since
then, she has dedicated her research to understanding the basic molecular by which ARTS
induces cell death, and to developing novel ARTS-based small molecules aimed specifically
and selectively at killing cancer cells. The objective of ARTS-based therapy is to 'trick'
cancer cells into self-destruction by using ARTS-based molecules small enough to penetrate
the cells.
University of Haifa
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The Laboratory for Cell Death and Cancer Research at the University of Haifa is now
focusing on the following important research goals:
•
Finalizing the ARTS compound for testing in animal studies and then in clinical
trials
•
Investigating the efficacy of the ARTS compound in solid tumors
•
Developing ARTS-based technologies to treat neuro-degenerative diseases
(such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's)
University of Haifa
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Dr. Sarit Larisch
Head of the Laboratory for Cell Death and Cancer Research
Dr. Sarit Larisch is Head of the Laboratory for Cell Death and Cancer Research at the
Biology Department, and a Senior Lecturer at University of Haifa, Faculty of Sciences,
Israel. She holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the Hebrew University, in Jerusalem. She
received an M.Sc. (Cum Laude) from the Lautenberg Center for General and Tumor
Immunology, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, and a Ph.D.
from the same institution.
Dr. Larisch was a post-doctoral Fogarty Visiting Fellow with Dr. Anita Roberts in the
Laboratory of Chemoprevention at the National Cancer Institute, NIH in Bethesda,
Maryland. During this period, she discovered a novel protein, termed ARTS, which
she found to play a pivotal role in promoting cell death, and provided the basis for
establishing her independent research program.
Dr. Larisch's research has led to numerous high-impact publications in international
leading scientific journals; she has won a large number of competitive grant awards
and holds six patents and patent applications on her discoveries. Dr. Larisch was a
Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School, Boston, in 2008 and has been a Visiting
Professor at the Rockefeller University in New York for the last seven years.
University of Haifa
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Request for Support
The University of Haifa is pleased to offer you a unique opportunity to support this very
important research initiative.
The Laboratory for Cell Death and Cancer Research is urgently seeking funding to ensure
the continuation of this vital research in the fight against cancer.
I. Naming of the Laboratory for Cell Death and Cancer Research
A. Laboratory and Equipment
$1 M
B. Endowment
$1 M
University of Haifa
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The University of Haifa, the only liberal arts university in northern Israel, sits
atop Mount Carmel and presently serves a student body – the most pluralistic
in the country – of more than 17,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
The University of Haifa is the largest comprehensive research university in
northern Israel. It is a microcosm of Israeli society dedicated to academic
excellence and social responsibility. Its location provides a unique backdrop for
novel interdisciplinary programs, cooperative endeavors with academic
institutes around the world and a diverse student body primed to address
regional challenges and universal social issues. Jews, Arabs, Druze, new
immigrants, IDF officers and security personnel come together to study,
research, socialize and share knowledge in an atmosphere of coexistence,
tolerance and mutual respect.
Instruction is offered within the framework of six faculties: Humanities, Social
Sciences, Law, Sciences and Science Education, Social Welfare and Health
Sciences and Education. The University's dual mission of first-rate higher
education and service to the community at large is manifested in the equal
educational opportunities open to all sectors of society and in its many forms of
programs promoting social outreach.
Contact Information
Mr. Jack Raymond
Executive Director, British Friends of Haifa University
Tel: 020 7724 3777 or 07943 170151
[email protected]
University of Haifa
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