Ras Synthesis Technique Developed for Cancer Treatment

The gene that produces ras garnered notoriety as the first known oncogene--a gene that can cause cancer.

Six years ago, Japanese scientists discovered that rasfonin, a compound isolated from a fungus, selectively destroys ras-dependent cells. Healthy cells were not harmed. With the hope that rasfonin could lead to a new family of anti-cancer agents, researchers started looking for a way to make enough rasfonin for testing.

Scientists now are reporting the development of that simpler method in the August 23, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Dr. Robert K. Boeckman Jr. and colleagues, from the department of chemistry, University of Rochester (New York, USA), explained in their article that the only existing synthesis was complicated and not easily adapted for producing larger amounts of rasfonin. Their method involves only 16 steps (compared to 23 in the previous method) and produces 67% more rasfonin.



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