PNC-27 5mg

PNC-27 is a polypeptide consisting of 27 amino acids that has shown significant anticarcinogenic properties. This peptide is derived from the p53 protein, a regulatory protein that is crucial for cancer prevention in many vertebrates, including humans, by inducing cell death in mutated cancer cells. 

PNC-27 has been shown to be able to precisely target several carcinogenic cell lines while leaving the surrounding non-mutated cells intact. This property has made it a promising treatment method for multiple types of cancer, such as lymphoma, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and several forms of breast cancer. As of today, PNC-27 is still being tested in preclinical research and numerous clinical trials, and, therefore, isn’t yet approved for official clinical use.

PNC-27 Research Benefits 

PNC-27 Anti-Cancer Peptide Research

 PNC-27 has shown many possible benefits for treating certain types of cancer and therefore presents a promising treatment solution that’s expected to be widely applied in the near future. 

 PNC-27 is able to target and bind to the c-Myc protein, a molecule which presents a significant regulator in many types of cancer by promoting the cancer cell growth, division and further mutations. By binding to c-Myc molecules, PNC-27 inhibits these processes and ultimately stops the activity of the cancer cells while being harmless to the surrounding healthy cells. The ability to detect and bind to c-Myc molecules is what made PNC-27 capable of precisely distinct cancer cells from the normal ones, a property which made PNC-27 revolutionary compared to the traditional, non-specific, and less conservative methods of cancer treatment such as chemotherapy. 

 It is also worth noting that PNC-27 can be combined with other forms of cancer therapy, such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. Using multiple methods in  combination therapy has proven to be highly efficient, as they work in synergy and amplify each other’s desired effects. 

 A study from 2017 has shown us an example of said synergy, combining the use of Paclitaxel, a chemotherapy medication used for treating types of cancer such as ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and Kaposi sarcoma, with PNC-27. The study was done in vivo by implanting ovarian cancer inside the mouse models. It was observed that administering PNC-27 to the mouse models alongside the weekly Paclitaxel therapy significantly reduces tumor growth compared to the same therapeutic dosage of Paclitaxel alone.

More Recent Studies

 Being an experimental medication that still hasn’t been officially approved by the FDA and EMA for clinical treatment globally, numerous preclinical studies and clinical trials have been conducted and, so far the results are more than promising. 

 Research from 2024 has successfully demonstrated that PNC-27 used in target leukemia therapy can selectively induce cellular apoptosis and necrosis in cancer cells by binding to the HDM-2 proteins located on the surface of their cell membrane. After binding to the HDM-2 proteins, PNC-27 proteins begin perforating the cell membranes of the cancer cells, forming multiple pores in them and causing complete karyolysis, successfully killing the cancer cells while leaving the normal, healthy hematopoietic cells intact.

 This selective property of PNC-27 was documented in another in vivo study from 2020, in which mouse models were used. After the pancreatic cancer cells were implanted inside the mouse models, a combined therapy of PNC-27 and PNC-28 (an analog molecule with similar properties to PNC-27) resulted in complete eradication of the pancreatic cancer cell cultures with no notable side effects, while the rest of the normal cells remained completely intact.

Usage Indications

 As previously stated, PNC-27 is yet to be officially approved by the FDA and EMA for general clinical use and therefore it is recommended to join a clinical trial in case you are considering PNC-27 therapy. 

 Its anticarcinogenic properties have made it a promising option for treating various types of cancer, and by being able to detect and bind to the c-Myc molecules, PNC-27 is capable of precise target therapy, affecting only the mutated cells while having no affinity to the normal, functional cells that surround them. The most notable indication for using PNC-27 as a therapeutic measure are the types of cancer where the c-Myc protein is overexpressed. The most common among them are pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia.

Summary

 PNC-27 showed promising benefits in treating some types of cancer, and more research has been done every day. In the future, we expect numerous scientific studies to further explore this peptide and its potential benefits in other medical fields.

References:

1.     Davitt K, Babcock BD, Fenelus M, Poon CK, Sarkar A, Trivigno V, Zolkind PA, Matthew SM, Grin'kina N, Orynbayeva Z, Shaikh MF, Adler V, Michl J, Sarafraz-Yazdi E, Pincus MR, Bowne WB. The anti-cancer peptide, PNC-27, induces tumor cell necrosis of a poorly differentiated non-solid tissue human leukemia cell line that depends on expression of HDM-2 in the plasma membrane of these cells. Ann Clin Lab Sci. 2014 Summer;44(3):241-8. PMID: 25117093. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25117093/
2.     Sarafraz-Yazdi E, Mumin S, Cheung D, Fridman D, Lin B, Wong L, Rosal R, Rudolph R, Frenkel M, Thadi A, Morano WF, Bowne WB, Pincus MR, Michl J. PNC-27, a Chimeric p53-Penetratin Peptide Binds to HDM-2 in a p53 Peptide-like Structure, Induces Selective Membrane-Pore Formation and Leads to Cancer Cell Lysis. Biomedicines. 2022; 10(5):945. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10050945
3.     Sookraj KA, Bowne WB, Adler V, Sarafraz-Yazdi E, Michl J, Pincus MR. The anti-cancer peptide, PNC-27, induces tumor cell lysis as the intact peptide. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2010 Jul;66(2):325-31. doi: 10.1007/s00280-009-1166-7. Epub 2010 Feb 25. PMID: 20182728. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20182728/
4.     Davitt K, Babcock BD, Fenelus M, Poon CK, Sarkar A, Trivigno V, Zolkind PA, Matthew SM, Grin'kina N, Orynbayeva Z, Shaikh MF, Adler V, Michl J, Sarafraz-Yazdi E, Pincus MR, Bowne WB. The anti-cancer peptide, PNC-27, induces tumor cell necrosis of a poorly differentiated non-solid tissue human leukemia cell line that depends on expression of HDM-2 in the plasma membrane of these cells. Ann Clin Lab Sci. 2014 Summer;44(3):241-8. PMID: 25117093. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25117093/
5.     Wilbur B. Bowne et al., The Penetratin Sequence in the Anti-cancer PNC-28 Peptide Causes Tumor Cell Necrosis Rather Than Apoptosis of Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells, Annals of Surgical Oncology 15(12):3588–3600 Published by Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008 The Society of Surgical Oncology, Inc. DOI: 10.1245/s10434-008-0147-0. https://webs.iiitd.edu.in/raghava/cancerppd/refpdf/18931881.pdf
6.     Anusha Thadi et al, Targeting Membrane HDM-2 by PNC-27 Induces Necrosis in Leukemia Cells But Not in Normal Hematopoietic Cells, Anticancer Research 40 (9):4857-4867, September 2020 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344117616