CiMUS researchers discover a new therapy directed against anaplastic thyroid cancer without damaging healthy cells

May 14th, 2024

CiMUS researchers discover a new therapy directed against anaplastic thyroid cancer without damaging healthy cells

A new study conducted by researchers from the Molecular Medicine Research Centre (CiMUS), a member of the CIGUS Network, an initiative launched by the regional government (Xunta de Galicia) that groups together centres of accredited scientific excellence within the Galician university system, and the Santiago University Hospital Complex (CHUS), both belonging to the University of Santiago de Compostela and the Galicia Health Research Institute (IDIS), led by Clara Álvarez from the Neoplasia & Endocrine Differentiation group and José Cameselle from the Pathology Service, opens the door to innovative therapy.

The study, published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications, identifies a therapeutic agent, PIAS2b-dsRNAi, that selectively eliminates anaplastic thyroid cancer cells without affecting healthy cells or other types of benign thyroid cancer. “This finding represents a significant advance in the fight against this very challenging disease,” says Clara Álvarez.

Attacking the source of the problem with precise therapy


The researchers discovered that an enzyme called PIAS2b plays a crucial role in the survival of anaplastic thyroid cells. Unlike normal cells or other types of cancer, anaplastic cells depend on PIAS2b for their division. This discovery provided the opportunity to design a targeted therapy that specifically targets this key enzyme.


The team designed a therapeutic agent based on in vitro transcribed double-stranded RNA (dsRNAi), called PIAS2b-dsRNAi. This dsRNAi acts as a reverse messenger molecule, silencing the expression of the PIAS2b enzyme within anaplastic cells. As a result, these cells lose their ability to divide and die in a process known as mitotic catastrophe. These results are protected by an international patent application with publication number (WO2021/028610A2).

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