Rewiring Signaling Pathways for Cancer Treatment

We are using protein engineering in a novel approach to treat cancer via pathway rewiring. Many cancers are caused by mutations in oncogenes that lead to constitutive (always on) activation of biochemical signals promoting cell growth and survival. Through the rational engineering of synthetic signaling proteins, we created a two-protein system named RASER (rewiring of aberrant signaling to effector release). RASER integrates oncogenic signaling over time and links it to the activation of a programmable therapeutic effector. Current work is focusing on translating RASER to the clinic. RASER realizes a long-sought goal in cancer treatment: the selective activation of cytotoxic treatments in cancer cells.