Anti-cancer drugs may respond better in zero gravity

Kolkata, June 13: Shedding new light on the effects of zero gravity on genetic perturbations, Indian researchers have indicated weightlessness may enhance the response of anti-cancer drugs. On the flipside, the scientists say, it could also induce cancers such as in the liver and leukemia in humans. The findings could aid authorities in designing new drugs to combat micro gravity-related illnesses.

Using a systems biology approach - computatiol and mathematical modelling of complex biological systems - experts at the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) and Presidency University here studied the linkages between gene expression and human health in micro-gravity condition.

“The aim was to understand how various molecular pathways are regulated in response to micro-gravity and how it alters expression of genes. Through a new type of alysis (systems biology), we have found the genetic sigture for leukemia and liver cancer,” Sangram Bagh, Ramanujan Fellow, Associate Professor, Biophysics and Structural Genomics Division, SINP, told IANS.

“Additiolly, we have shown cancer drugs may respond better in zero gravity,” said Bagh, also the lead author of the study. The findings have been published in ture Scientific Reports in May and the team includes Sayak Mukhopadhyay, Rohini Saha, Anbarasi Palanisamy, Madhurima Ghosh, Anupriya Biswas, Saheli Roy, Arijit Pal and Kathakali Sarkar. (IANS)