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Updated: Jun 9, 2025

Through the Looking Glass: Time-lapse Microscopy and Longitudinal Tracking of Single Cells to Study Anti-cancer Therapeutics
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Combinatorial Anti-Cancer Effect of Polypurine Reverse Hoogsteen Hairpins against KRAS and MYC Targeting in Prostate

Simonas Valiuska1,2, Kayla K Elder3, Steven J McKay3

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Physiology, School of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona (UB), 08028 Barcelona, Spain.

Genes
|October 26, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Targeting KRAS and MYC proto-oncogenes with Polypurine Reverse Hoogsteen (PPRH) hairpins synergistically reduced cancer cell viability. This dual gene modulation approach effectively decreased cell proliferation and expression of these key cancer-driving genes.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Oncology
  • Gene Regulation

Background:

  • KRAS and MYC are proto-oncogenes crucial for cell growth and proliferation.
  • Dysregulation of KRAS and MYC is linked to cancer progression.
  • Previous studies individually targeted these oncogenes using Polypurine Reverse Hoogsteen (PPRH) hairpins.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the cooperative dynamics between KRAS and MYC.
  • To evaluate the combined impact of PPRHs targeting both KRAS and MYC in pancreatic and prostate cancer cells.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized Polypurine Reverse Hoogsteen (PPRH) hairpins to target KRAS and MYC oncogenes.
  • Assessed transcriptional and translational modulation of oncogenes.
  • Evaluated cell viability and cytotoxicity in cancer cell lines.

Main Results:

  • Combined PPRH treatment modulated the expression of both KRAS and MYC, leading to downregulation.
  • MYC-targeting PPRHs, particularly HpMYC-G4-PR-C, showed significant cytotoxic and expression modulation effects.
  • Synergistic reduction in cancer cell viability was observed when both KRAS- and MYC-targeting PPRHs were applied concurrently.

Conclusions:

  • Simultaneous targeting of KRAS and MYC with PPRHs is an effective strategy for gene modulation.
  • This combined approach demonstrates efficacy in decreasing cancer cell proliferation and viability.
  • The findings support the potential of dual oncogene targeting in cancer therapy.
Keywords:
G-quadruplexKRASMYCPPRHpancreatic cancerprostate cancer

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