Hsp90 JAK-hammer

Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institutehave found a mechanistic link between janus kinase-2 and heat shock protein 90 that opens up the possibility of using inhibitors of the latter in myelofibrosis. There are no approved drugs for the disease, and heat shock protein 90 inhibitors may offer a better therapeutic window than janus kinase-2 inhibitors.

Myelofibrosis is a malignancy that involves proliferation of abnormal bone marrow stem cells. As a reaction to the presence of growing malignant cells, collagenous connective tissue fibers develop in the bone marrow and decrease its function, shifting at least part of the burden of hematopoietic stem cell formation to the spleen and liver. The result is substantial enlargement of these organs. Survival following diagnosis is typically 2-11 years...