Yap Inhibitor Verteporfin: What You Need to Know
If you know anything about modern medicine, and modern cancer research, then there is no doubt that you have heard the term “signaling pathways” at least a couple of times already. After all, researchers often talk about these pathways, which are basically networks that let cells know when to divide, grow, or die. And, well, there are definitely numerous different pathways that are being studied, with the Hippo-YAP pathway being one of the most talked about in recent years.
That particular pathway system helps control tissue growth and organ size, both of which are important for our health, as you may have guessed it. Yet, when something goes wrong in this particular pathway, that can result in uncontrolled cell growth, that is, in cancer. And, that is where Verteporfin yap inhibitor plays an important role, showing promising results in cancer research, being able to control this particular pathway. So, this particular drug is nowadays an important cancer research and fibrosis candidate.
You may have heard of it already, but you may not know much about it. And you are here to change that. There are, without a doubt, some interesting and important things that you absolutely have to know about Verteporfin yap inhibitor, and we are now going to discuss some of them. So, in short, it is time for you to get better acquainted with this particular drug, to understand what it is, how it works, to figure out its origins, and to realize why it is so important in cancer research nowadays. Without any more ado, thus, let us start telling you what you need to know about it.
- It Was Originally Approved as a Drug for an Eye Condition
It is a common thing in the world of medicine for one drug to be developed for one condition, only to realize later on that it can be used for other things as well. So, the information that Verteporfin yap inhibitor was first approved as a drug for an eye condition shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Basically, that’s just the way things work in drug development, so there is nothing unusual about this. Yet, it is interesting.
To cut right to the chase, this drug was first developed, as well as approved, for treating age related macular degeneration, called AMD in short. AMD is actually a leading cause of vision loss in older adults. In this particular case, doctors inject the drug into the bloodstream, and then shine a laser on the retina to activate it, which can lead to the destruction of abnormal blood vessels in the eye. Years after the drug has been approved for this, scientists have discovered that it has another surprising ability – the ability to disrupt YAP signaling.
- YAP Leads to Cell Growth
To understand why that ability is so important, though, you first have to understand YAP in general. In short, this is a protein inside our cells that pretty much acts like a growth switch. Basically, when it is turned on, cells get the signal that it is time for them to grow. More precisely, it sends a signal to certain genes to produce proteins that will promote cell growth and division, as well as tissue repair, and even survival under stress.
As you may have realized, this is an important process and when it works properly, it has a huge role in our health. Yet, when it comes to cancers, this switch is often broken, so to speak, which results in YAP being overactive. And, that kind of excessive activity drives tumor growth, metastasis, as well as resistance to therapy. I suppose you understand, thus, that the excessive activity can be quite dangerous.
Read more about YAP in cancer: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6186419/
- Verteporfin Prevents YAP from Turning on Growth Genes
Now, since we are here to talk about Verteporfin yap inhibitor, let me tell you what it does to prevent that excessive YAP activity. In the simplest words possible, it prevents YAP from turning on those growth genes, which means that the proteins necessary for growth won’t be produced. This further means that the cancer cells won’t grow, and that their spread will be slowed down, if not stopped. There is no doubt in my mind that you understand how important thing can be in cancer treatment.
- It Is One of the First Small Molecules Known to Be Able to Do This
Now, scientists have studied YAP for a long time, trying to find drugs that could target it directly, and inhibit its work, that is, block the signals that it sends to the genes. Verteporfin yap inhibitor is, thus, actually one of the first small molecules that has been discovered to be able to do this. This is why its discovery was especially exciting, because it opened the doors to some new researches, and to the development of YAP-targeted therapy.
- It Has Anti-Tumor Effects for Various Cancers
In case you are wondering what kinds of cancers it can actually be helpful with, let me cut right to the chase, and say this. Plenty. It has shown potential in fighting various types of cancers, from breast, liver and pancreatic cancer, to mesothelioma, and even ovarian and colorectal cancer. In addition to slowing down tumor growth and reducing cancer cell survival, this particular drug can make some cancer cells more sensitive to the traditional types of treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation.
- It Can Help With Fibrosis as Well
In addition to cancers, research also shows that Verteporfin yap inhibitor can be rather helpful in the treatment of fibrosis. This is also a great thing, as it shows that the drug could be used in the future to fight some other conditions, and to even help treat chronic organ damage. So, it may not be just for cancer, and that is a hopeful discovery.
- The Side-Effects Are Already Well Known
While Verteporfin yap inhibitor is still not tested on patients, the lab results are quite promising. And, apart from that, the side-effects are already well known. So, the safety profile has been established, meaning that researchers are one step closer towards actually managing to make this drug applicable for actual patients.
