Killing Cancer With Progeria
You may recall that scientists cracked the secrets of Progeria - an accelerated aging disorder - in 2004. This Reuters AlertNet piece details some of the follow-on work: "In 2003, a team of [scientists] found that progeria was caused by mutation in a protein called Lamin A, which lines the nucleus in human cells. ... mutated Lamin A actually disrupted the repair process in cells, thus resulting in accelerated ageing. ... the enzyme Zmpste 24 was responsible in converting prelamin A to functional Lamin A. Zhou's laboratory is now developing inhibitors to Zmpste 24, which he hopes to apply to tumours. These inhibitors should theoretically disrupt Lamin A production, thwart the repair function in cancer cells, and bring on their premature aging and death."