Melanoma, which originates from melanocytes, after entering the metastatic stage causes the highest
mortality among skin malignant tumors resulting from the lack of effective therapy due to common
resistance to the applied drugs [1]. In the view of increasing worldwide prevalence the intensive search for
successful therapy pattern is undertaken with the use of combined strategy. This includes the combination
of recognized anti-cancer drugs with compounds acting on various vital cellular signaling pathways,
particularly on the energy metabolism. In melanoma, the mutation of the proto-oncogene B-Raf cytoplasmic
serine–threonine kinase (BRAF) gene is the most common (over 50% of patients), which is why most of the
applied drugs are directed at inhibiting that signaling pathway. For the optimization of the choice of possible
compounds, we performed the modified SynGeNet drug combination prediction study [2]. Experimental
validation of effective combinations was done by monitoring the interaction of specific lectins with cellular
surface glycans typical for various stages of melanoma progression in real-time experiments using quartz
crystal microbalance with the dissipation monitoring and atomic force microscopy [3]. Evaluation of the
modification of the glycosylation process of metastatic melanoma cells as result of the applied combination
of compounds could reveal potential usability in malignant melanoma treatment.
[1] Sobiepanek, A. et al. (2021). European Biophysics Journal, 50, 523.
[2] Regan-Fendt, K. E. et al. (2019). Npj Systems Biology and Applications, 5(1), 6.
[3] Sobiepanek et al. (2017) Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 93:274-281
28/10/2021 at noon Prof. Tomasz Kobiela Warsaw University of Technology, Head of Laboratory of Biomolecular Interactions Studies