Therapeutic Application and Disease Relevance
Since folate is needed by rapidly dividing cells to make thymine, this effect may be used to therapeutic advantage.
DHFR can be targeted in the treatment of cancer. DHFR is responsible for the levels of tetrahydrofolate in a cell, and the inhibition of DHFR can limit the growth and proliferation of cells that are characteristic of cancer. Methotrexate, a competitive inhibitor of DHFR, is one such anticancer drug that inhibits DHFR. Other drugs include trimethoprim and pyrimethamine. These three are widely used as antitumor and antimicrobial agents. Whether or not these are potent anticancer agents is unclear.
Trimethoprim has shown to have activity against a variety of Gram-positive bacterial pathogens. However, resistance to trimethoprim and other drugs aimed at DHFR can arise due to a variety of mechanisms, limiting the success of their therapeutical uses. Resistance can arise from DHFR gene amplification, mutations in DHFR, decrease in the uptake of the drugs, among others. Regardless, trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole in combination has been used as an antibacterial agent for decades.
Folic acid is necessary for growth, and the pathway of the metabolism of folic acid is a target in developing treatments for cancer. DHFR is one such target. A regimen of fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and methotrexate was shown to prolong survival in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Further studies into inhibitors of DHFR can lead to more ways to treat cancer.
Read more about this topic: Dihydrofolate Reductase
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