Researchers found that two molecules inside leukemia cells, beta-catenin and LIN28B, work as a team. LIN28B fine-tunes the cells' Wnt growth signal. In lab tests, drugs aimed at both pathways together killed myeloid leukemia cells more effectively than either pathway alone.
The Wnt growth signal drives many blood cancers but has no effective targeted drugs. LIN28B, a fetal program switched back on in rare leukemias such as juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, offers a second target. Pairing the two attacks gives drug developers a concrete combination strategy for a pathway that has resisted direct blockade.
✦ Two partnered signals, blocked together, hit harder than either one alone.