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Updated: Jan 19, 2026

Anticancer Efficacy of Photodynamic Therapy with Lung Cancer-Targeted Nanoparticles
Published on: December 1, 2016
ALKBH overexpression in head and neck cancer: potential target for novel anticancer therapy
Tomaš Pilžys1, Michał Marcinkowski1, Wojciech Kukwa2
1Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
Abstract:
The nine identified human homologues of E. coli AlkB 2-oxoglutarate (2OG) and Fe(II)-dependent dioxygenase, ALKBH1-8 and FTO, display different substrate specificities and diverse biological functions. Here we discovered the combined overexpression of members of the ALKBH family in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). We found direct correlation of ALKBH3 and FTO expression with primary HNSCC tumor size. We observed unidentified thus far cytoplasmic localization of ALKBH2 and 5 in HNSCC, suggesting abnormal role(s) of ALKBH proteins in cancer. Further, high expression of ALKBHs was observed not only in HNSCC, but also in several cancerous cell lines and silencing ALKBH expression in HeLa cancer cells resulted in dramatically decreased survival. Considering the discovered impact of high expression of ALKBH proteins on HNSCC development, we screened for ALKBH blockers among newly synthetized anthraquinone derivatives and demonstrated their potential to support standard anticancer therapy.
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