News from ASH: DLCL NHL Gene

Good news from the American Society of Hematology gathering this week. Results from a pre-clinical study show that the gene designated Bcl-6 is one with the potential to cause a normal cell to become cancerous -- but that certain peptide inhibitors can in effect inactivate it. Diffuse Large Cell Lymphoma is the most common form of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. In the study, DLCL cells were exposed to special peptide inhibitors. Remarkably, practically all of the DLCL cells with active Bcl-6 genes underwent severe growth suppression, cell cycle arrest, and cell destruction.



According to Ari Melnick, M.D., lead author of the study, "These exciting results indicate that Bcl-6 is a new specific therapeutic target for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and that BTB Peptide Inhibitor is a potent, highly specific, and non-toxic treatment to address this target."