Registration Number
0225U004591,
(0124U003964)
, R & D reports
Title
I-DRUG: The German Ukrainian Radiosensitizer Development Initiative
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Перевірка ефективності нових компонентів ко-таргетної терапії на моделі клітин раку голови та шиї in vitro
Head
Stasyk Oleh V., Доктор біологічних наук
Registration Date
13-12-2025
Organization
Institute of Cell Biology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
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The vision of I-DRUG is to develop new innovative metabolic strategies that improve the curative potential of cancer radiotherapy. In particular, our goal is to investigate the radiosensitizing potential of combinational approaches of arginine-deprivation therapy (ADT) based on the sophisticated 3D spheroid assay platform and cellular models of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC).
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The goal of the I-DRUG project is to develop innovative metabolic strategies that enhance the therapeutic potential of radiation therapy for cancer, particularly by studying the radiosensitising potential of enzymatic arginine (Arg) deprivation therapy (ADT) in models of highly metastatic human head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Our working hypothesis is that the anticancer efficacy of ADT can be improved through the rational design of combined approaches involving recombinant arginase (rhARG1) and additional chemotherapeutic agents, particularly plant-derived arginine analogues.
According to the tasks of the second stage of the project, the experimental plan for rhARG1 production to create an ADT model has been completed. The chemical synthesis and purification of indospicine (Isp) from a plant extract have been partially completed, and experimental work in this direction will be continued after the end of the project. It is shown for the first time that Isp-containing extracts of I. spicata and chemically synthesised Isp retain their biological activity after treatment with arginine deiminase, a common recombinant enzyme under clinical trials. A new method for preventing the degradation of the Arg analogue canavanine (Cav) by using an oligomer, a nonapeptide, as a non-immunogenic pharmacological agent for selective tumor therapy has been proposed for the first time. Firstly, the cytotoxic effect of the oligomer (nonamer) of Cav was detected in a HNSCC monolayer model specifically under ADT. (Cav)9 is being tested in a spheroid model of head and neck carcinomas obtained in the previous stage of the work, in collaboration with a German project partner.
Product Description
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Dmytro V. Demash
Olena I. Vovk
Halyna Y. Shuvaieva
Stasyk Olena H.
Nikita V. Polishchuk
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2025-12-13
