Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 5, 2026

Studying Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using Orthotopic Breast Cancer Model
09:29

Studying Triple Negative Breast Cancer Using Orthotopic Breast Cancer Model

Published on: March 20, 2020

18.9K

A small molecule targeting myoferlin exerts promising anti-tumor effects on breast cancer

Tao Zhang1,2, Jingjie Li1,3, Yuan He1

  • 1East China Normal University and Shanghai Fengxian District Central Hospital Joint Center for Translational Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, 200241, Shanghai, China.

Nature Communications
|September 15, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Researchers identified WJ460 as a potent inhibitor of breast cancer cell invasion. This small molecule targets myoferlin (MYOF), a protein crucial for breast cancer metastasis, offering a potential new therapeutic strategy.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Breast cancer metastasis is a major cause of mortality in women.
  • Identifying novel therapeutic targets for metastatic breast cancer is critical.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To screen for small molecule inhibitors of breast cancer cell invasion.
  • To identify the molecular target of potent anti-invasive compounds.
  • To evaluate the therapeutic potential of targeting myoferlin (MYOF) in breast cancer metastasis.

Main Methods:

  • Small molecule library screening for anti-invasive compounds.
  • Structure-activity relationship studies to optimize lead compounds.
  • Proteomic and biochemical assays to identify direct molecular targets.
  • Experimental metastasis mouse model to assess in vivo efficacy.

Main Results:

  • WJ460 identified as a lead compound with nanomolar anti-metastatic activity in breast cancer cells.
  • Myoferlin (MYOF) identified as the direct molecular target of WJ460.
  • Inhibition of MYOF, by genetic means or WJ460, reduced breast cancer lung metastasis in mice.

Conclusions:

  • Myoferlin (MYOF) plays an essential role in breast cancer progression and metastasis.
  • Targeting MYOF with WJ460 represents a promising therapeutic strategy for metastatic breast cancer.
  • MYOF is a potential molecular target for developing novel breast cancer therapies.

More Related Videos

Orthotopic Transplantation of Breast Tumors as Preclinical Models for Breast Cancer07:45

Orthotopic Transplantation of Breast Tumors as Preclinical Models for Breast Cancer

Published on: May 18, 2020

7.1K
Initiation of Metastatic Breast Carcinoma by Targeting of the Ductal Epithelium with Adenovirus-Cre: A Novel Transgenic Mouse Model of Breast Cancer07:13

Initiation of Metastatic Breast Carcinoma by Targeting of the Ductal Epithelium with Adenovirus-Cre: A Novel Transgenic Mouse Model of Breast Cancer

Published on: March 26, 2014

24.0K

Related Concept Videos

Targeted Cancer Therapies02:57

Targeted Cancer Therapies

The targeted cancer therapies, also known as “molecular targeted therapies,” take advantage of the molecular and genetic differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. It needs a thorough understanding of the cancer cells to develop drugs that can target specific molecular aspects that drive the growth, progression, and spread of cancer cells without affecting the growth and survival of other normal cells in the body.
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
8.9K
Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance02:40

Cancer Stem Cells and Tumor Maintenance

Early diagnosis and treatment can often cure cancer. However, even with treatment, residual cells called cancer stem cells (CSC) might remain, often causing tumor recurrence. These cancer stem cells possess the potential for self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation and are often responsible for the therapeutic resistance displayed in most cancers.
Cancer stem cells are thought to originate from tissue-specific normal stem cells or progenitor cells. The normal stem cells usually reside in...
6.0K
Molecules and Compounds02:38

Molecules and Compounds

Atoms and Molecules
68.8K
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes01:05

Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
9.8K
Kinetic Molecular Theory and Gas Laws Explain Properties of Gas Molecules02:34

Kinetic Molecular Theory and Gas Laws Explain Properties of Gas Molecules

The test of the kinetic molecular theory (KMT) and its postulates is its ability to explain and describe the behavior of a gas. The various gas laws (Boyle’s, Charles’s, Gay-Lussac’s, Avogadro’s, and Dalton’s laws) can be derived from the assumptions of the KMT, which have led chemists to believe that the assumptions of the theory accurately represent the properties of gas molecules.
37.5K
Buffer Effectiveness02:19

Buffer Effectiveness

Buffer solutions do not have an unlimited capacity to keep the pH relatively constant . Instead, the ability of a buffer solution to resist changes in pH relies on the presence of appreciable amounts of its conjugate weak acid-base pair. When enough strong acid or base is added to substantially lower the concentration of either member of the buffer pair, the buffering action within the solution is compromised.
The buffer capacity is the amount of acid or base that can be added to a given volume...
55.3K