Cancer & HIV Controlled With ONCONASE, A Novel RNase Therapeutic
by Carmine M. Zingarino
ABSTRACT - What is ONCONASE?
The word "ONCONASE" is a contraction of the words ONCOLOGY and
RIBONUCLEASE (RNASE). It is used to identify a protein substance
that possesses anti-cancer properties and RNase specific
enzymatic activities.
In fact, Onconase is a ribonuclease protein (RNase) derived
from the eggs (oocytes) and early embryos of the leopard frog
"Rana pipiens." It is a novel protein based on its comparison
with over 10,000 other proteins registered with the National
Biomedical Research Foundation Protein Identification Resource.
Though the scope of its anti-cancer activity embraces a wide
variety of tumor cell types, it is especially active against
carcinomas (i.e. solid tumor cancers), which may account for
about 90% of all cancers. Alfacell Corporation - a
biopharmaceutical company located in Bloomfield, New Jersey - is
credited with the discovery of this RNase protein.
In addition to the anti-tumor properties just noted Onconase
also possesses anti-viral activity. In particular, scientists at
the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have shown that Onconase
is active against the HIV-1 virus, the causative agent of AIDS.
NIH studies demonstrate that Onconase inhibits replication of the
HIV-1 virus up to 99.9% "in vitro" within 4 days.
The scientific data clearly demonstrates that Onconase has
considerable potential in the treatment of cancer and HIV
infections. These considerations convinced the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) in January 1995 to approve Onconase for a
Phase III clinical trial involving pancreatic cancer. In fact,
Onconase is the first RNase drug to reach this stage of clinical
testing. Consequently, it represents an entirely new approach to
the treatment of cancer and viral infections. This article
summarizes the scientific research and developmental history of
ONCONASE (P-30 protein), a novel RNase therapeutic.
If you enjoyed this abstract you may wish to read the complete
article entitled, "Cancer & HIV Controlled With ONCONASE, A Novel
RNase Therapeutic." This article provides a detailed
discussion of ONCONASE's molecular structure, its mechanism of
action in cancer cells and HIV-1 infected cells, and a review of
the clinical studies. The scientific literature is extensively
referenced throughout the article.
Copies of the article are free. You may quote the article if you
wish as long as you give proper credit to the author.
Please send E-mail requests to Carmine Zingarino at
gn686 at cleveland.Freenet.Edu.
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