In their early studies, they discovered a type of chemical, called an amidoanthraquinone, which did exactly what they had predicted, changing the structure of the telomere and preventing the telomerase from working. The task now facing them is to see if they can use this discovery to develop a new type of anti-cancer drug. Professor Neidle and his colleagues will begin by using computers to design molecules that will have the correct shape and properties to inhibit telomerase. These compounds will be chemically synthesised and tested, first in a test-tube and then in cancer cells, to find out how effectively they prevent telomerase from working and whether they can prevent cancer cells from dividing. If they can find compounds with these properties, they may be able to develop them into new drugs to treat cancer.
All cells carry their genes on a set of long, worm-shaped structures called chromosomes.
Every time a cell divides, it has to duplicate its chromosomes and pass one copy of each to the two daughter cells. At the ends of every chromosome are special sections called telomeres. Every time the chromosome is duplicated, the telomere gets shorter until, when it is too short, the chromosome can no longer be duplicated, the cell cannot divide and it dies. This is the mechanism that stops normal cells from continuing to divide forever. However, cancer cells have a system called telomerase, that rebuilds the telomeres, preventing them from getting shorter and allowing the cancer cells to continue dividing forever.