11-12-2014, 05:12 PM
After a 1953 paper revealed that guinea pig serum could kill tumor cells through L-asparaginase activity, several
bacterial L-aspariginases were developed as FDA-approved drugs to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and other
cancers. However, side effects persist due to off-target glutaminase activity and immunogenicity, so researchers recently
went back to the original source: the guinea pig. 60 years after that first report, they've now characterized a guinea
pig enzyme they say should replace currently-used cancer drugs;
bacterial L-aspariginases were developed as FDA-approved drugs to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and other
cancers. However, side effects persist due to off-target glutaminase activity and immunogenicity, so researchers recently
went back to the original source: the guinea pig. 60 years after that first report, they've now characterized a guinea
pig enzyme they say should replace currently-used cancer drugs;