Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Other

Michael B Yaffe

Jesse C Patterson

Isaac A Manke

Hans Christian Reinhardt

Paula T Hammond

Kun Ping Lu

Lewis C Cantley

Gunter Fischer

Michael Jungho Lee

Stephen W Morton

Scott R Floyd

Pharmaceutical compositions including an effective amount of an antiandrogen or androgen antagonist in combination with a Plk inhibitor and methods of use thereof for treating cancer are disclosed. Administration of the combination of the active agents can be effective to reduce cancer cell proliferation or viability in a subject with cancer to the same degree, or a greater degree than administering to the subject the same amount of either active agent alone. The active agents can be administered together or separately. Methods of selecting and treating subjects with cancers, particular prostate cancers including castration resistant prostate cancer, breast cancers, particularly androgen receptor positive breast cancers, and pancreatic cancers are also provided.

Combination therapies and methods of use thereof for treating cancer

Compositions and methods for increasing or decreasing DNA repair are provided. Composition includes a Brd4 polypeptide, fragment, fusion, or variant thereof. The fusion protein can include a protein transduction, a targeting domain, or a combination thereof to enhance delivery of the fusion protein to the interior of a particular target cell, such as a cancer cell. Inhibitory nucleic acids that target a Brd4 mRNA and antibodies that target a Brd4 polypeptide are also disclosed. The inhibitory nucleic acid or antibody can target a sequence or epitope on Brd4 isoform B that is absent on Brd4 isoform A and Brd4 isoform C. Methods for increasing or decreasing the sensitivity of cells to a DNA damaging agent, methods of treating cancer, and methods of determining cells' sensitivity to a DNA damaging agent are also disclosed.

Compositions and methods for modulating BRD4 bioactivity

Time-staggered inhibition of EGFR, in combination with DNA damaging agents, is a useful therapeutic strategy for treating cancers, particularly drug resistant cancers such as a subset of triple-negative tumors, particularly those with high basal levels of phosphorylated EGFR. The staggered therapy was also demonstrated to be applicable to other types of tumors, especially lung cancers, which contain either high levels of phosphorylated wild-type EGFR or mutations within EGFR itself. EGFR inhibition dramatically sensitizes cancer cells to DNA damage if the drugs are given sequentially, but not simultaneously. The first drug must be administered in a dosage and for a period of time sufficient for the dynamic network rewiring of an oncogenic signature maintained by active EGFR signaling to unmask an apoptotic process that involves activation of caspase-8.

Compositions and methods of treatment of drug resistant cancers

The present invention relates to compounds and pharmaceutical compositions for treating cellular proliferative disorders, e.g., in patients having one or more p53-deficient cells, screening assays for identifying such compounds, and methods for treating such disorders.

MAPKAP kinase-2 as a specific target for blocking proliferation of P53-defective

Mapkap kinase-2 as a specific target for blocking proliferation of P53-defective cells

Inhibitors of phosphoserine- or posphothreonine-specific peptidyl prolyl isomerases are described. Such inhibitors include molecules that mimic the structure and conformation of the pSer/pThr-Pro peptide moiety of the isomerase substrate when the substrate is bound into the active site of the isomerase. For example, a protein, peptide or peptide mimetic including xSer/ThrY where x is a negatively charged tetra or pentavalent moiety and Y is a Pro or a Pro analog. Methods of inhibiting cell growth and methods of identifying phosphoserine- or phosphothreonine-proline specific peptidyl-prolyl isomerase inhibitors are also included in the invention.

Growing community of inventors

West Roxbury, MA, United States of America

Michael B Yaffe