Way Found to Slow Growth of Kaposi Sarcoma

Cancer researchers have found that inhibiting the activity of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) slows the growth of Kaposi sarcoma, a type of cancer characterized by numerous bluish-red nodules on the skin, usually on the lower extremities, that is endemic to equatorial Africa and often occurs in a particularly virulent form in people with AIDS.

Investigators at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain) built upon previous findings that infection with Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpes virus caused increased HO-1 activity in Kaposi sarcoma cells. The increase was induced by a viral protein, viral G protein-coupled receptor (vGPCR).

In the current work, published in the April 21, 2006, issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the investigators used various methods to inhibit the expression of HO-1. They found that suppression of HO-1 dramatically reduced growth of Kaposi sarcoma tumors transplanted into nude mice. Treating the mice with an HO-1 inducer stimulated tumor growth.

First author Dr. Maria Julia Marinissen, a researcher at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, said, "Considering that heme oxygenase-1 is overexpressed in human Kaposi sarcoma lesions, the inhibition of intratumoral heme oxygenase-1 activity by currently available drugs can represent a new anticancer tactic in the treatment of Kaposi sarcoma and may be of potential clinical interest after more extensive investigation.”


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