Lovastatin (trade name: Mevacor) is a cholesterol lowering drug while cyclopamine is a cancer drug.
Cyclopamine works by blocking the so-called “hedgehog” pathway, long known to promote and guide cell and organ growth while lovastatin (aside from cholesterol-clogging effects) is known to curb destruction of proteins that put the brakes on cell growth, causing cancer cells to self-destruct through a process called apoptosis.
The unlikely pair of these two compounds has been found by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center to dramatically kill brain cancer cells.
Once the hedgehog is blocked by cyclopamine, the cancer cells become more susceptible to lovastatin.
The …read more