Counterintuitive?

Vascular dysfunction contributes to the formation of a cancer-promoting microenvironment and hinders the delivery of therapeutic drugs

Discover the role of LRG1 in eye disease

In 2008, the same research team at the UCL Institute of Ophthalology found that LRG1, a leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein 1 (LRG1), helps pathogenic new blood vessels The resulting formation is a powerful stimulant for abnormal angiogenesis in the human eye and leads to vascular problems related to diabetic retinopathy and wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

Research objectives

The co-author of the research report, Professor John Greenwood (University College London Ophthalmology Institute), explained the research: “Cancer needs blood supply to grow, but when new blood vessels form inside the tumor, they are usually abnormal.

Research result

The results of a mouse study published by University College London (UCL) in the journal MED showed for the first time that in a mouse model of cancer, Lrg1 is induced to be up-regulated in tumor endothelial cells, and the expression of LRG1 affects tumor progression

The researchers said that for patients who do not respond well to current cancer treatment standards, including breast, colon, bladder, prostate, and lung cancer, this new drug may have a better therapeutic effect

In this study, an Lrg1 blocking antibody developed by University College London (ucl) was injected into tumor-bearing mice, while giving or not giving various cancer therapies, simulating what is found in humans.

Co-lead author Professor Stephen Moss (University College London Institute of Ophthalmology) said: "Although it is counterintuitive that finding a way to normalize cancer tumor blood vessels has become a clinical goal, identifying an effective treatment tool has been proven It is difficult to achieve

Next step

The research team has developed a human version of the lrg1 blocking antibody called Magacizumab, which is ready for clinical trials in patients with cancer and eye diseases

*Checkpoint inhibitors are an immunotherapy that prevents cancer cells from "turning off" the body's immune response

**In CAR-T therapy, immune cells (T cells) are genetically engineered to contain a molecule called chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) on their surface, which can specifically recognize cancer cells