ONCONASE® (ranpirnase), a first-in-class therapeutic based on Alfacell Corporation's proprietary ribonuclease (RNase) technology is a natural protein isolated from the leopard frog, which has been shown (in both laboratory and clinical setting) to target cancer cells while sparing normal cells: triggering apoptosis (the natural death of cells) via multiple molecular mechanisms of action.
Now, new in vitro studies revealed that mild hypertemia dramatically enhances the therapeutic effects of ONCONASE®.
The studies conducted by Zbigniew Darzynkiewicz, M.D., Ph.D., and collaborators demonstrated apoptosis, or programmed cell death, increased up to 200 percent when ONCONASE was applied to lymphoblastoid TK6 cells at 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to treatment at 37.5 degrees Celsius (99.5 degrees Fahrenheit).
Findings are reported in a paper entitled, "Mild hyperthermia predisposes tumor cells to undergo apoptosis upon treatment with ONCONASE" published in the International Journal of Oncology (April 2007).
ONCONASE® is the lead investigational product of Alfacell Corporation (Nasdaq: ACEL).
Find more details from the press release.
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