New Breast Cancer Research to be Funded

Breast Cancer Cure (BCC) in partnership with The Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC), are pleased to announce the funding of an additional research project that will aim to contribute to the goal of improving and ultimately ensuring breast cancer survival in New Zealand. This research project, led by Dr Evelyn Sattlegger at Massey University, will seek to test a new drug target that has the potential to impair breast cancer cell growth.
 
Dr Evelyn Sattlegger will test the target over a period of 24 months at a cost of $100,000 (funded by Breast Cancer Cure and HRC).
 
Phillipa Green, General Manager for Breast Cancer Cure comments, “We are proud to be able to announce the funding of another vital research project, to help us achieve our goal of finding a cure for breast cancer.  This new project takes us to a total of eight projects funded via the breast cancer partnership with the Health Research Council of New Zealand since 2013.”
 
“The funding of this project is only possible thanks to the generous support of New Zealanders around the country participating in our fundraising activities such as Fashion for a Cure.”
 
HRC Chief Executive Professor Kath McPherson welcomes the funding of this additional research project by the HRC and BCC.
 
“This research project will contribute to the growing portfolio of high quality, innovative research that is being funded through the Breast Cancer Research in New Zealand partnership. It is by supporting research like this that we’ll be able to make real headway in improving, and ultimately ensuring survival from breast cancer.”
 
BCC has funded over $10M of research in New Zealand over 15 years ranging from studies into the use of antibodies as a targeted treatment for controlling growth of breast cancer cells, to early detection of breast cancer, to research in the field of immunotherapy and the harnessing of our own immune systems to combat breast cancer. 
 
Summary of research
Although breast cancer cells have heterogeneous properties, all of them have a high nutritional demand. The activity of the enzyme Gcn2 is important to meet this nutritional demand and thereby supporting cancer cell survival and growth. It has also been found that Gcn2 activity is critically dependent on a unique protein-protein interaction (PPI).
 
Dr Evelyn Sattlegger at Massey University is leading a research project that will test the hypothesis that a drug could specifically disrupt this PPI, prevent Gcn2 activation, and thereby provide an effective treatment for virtually all breast cancer types with minimal side-effects.
 
To test this, the team will conduct protein structure-modelling, biochemical and genetic studies, to design and characterise peptides for their potency in disrupting the PPI and inhibiting Gcn2 activation. The most potent peptides will be tested for their efficacy in impairing breast cancer cell growth. These peptides will inform the development of PPI-disrupting drugs that promise to improve the treatment for many breast cancer patients, increasing their quality of life and improving survivorship.