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aTyr Pharma Presents Preclinical Research Characterizing Effects of ATYR2810 in Highly Aggressive Tumor Subtypes at the 2022 AACR Annual Meeting
Findings suggest that ATYR2810 reduces metastasis and enhances chemosensitivity by downregulating key genes linked to these processes. SAN DIEGO, April 11,
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[{"type":"text","content":"Findings suggest that ATYR2810 reduces metastasis and enhances chemosensitivity by downregulating key genes linked to these processes.\nSAN DIEGO, April 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- aTyr Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIFE), a biotherapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of innovative medicines based on novel biological pathways, today announced a poster presentation at the 2022 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, which is being held April 8 – 13, 2022, in New Orleans, LA, and virtually. The poster and corresponding abstract are available for browsing on the AACR website through July 13, 2022. The poster is also available on the aTyr website. The poster presents findings from a preclinical study, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Arthur M. Mercurio and his lab at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, characterizing the subtypes of breast cancer that are most responsive to treatment with ATYR2810, a fully humanized monoclonal antibody that selectively and functionally blocks the interaction between neuropilin-2 (NRP2) and VEGF by directly binding at the site of the VEGF binding pocket. Interrogation of ATYR2810 activity in combination with chemotherapy across a panel of breast cancer cells lines using an in vitro 3D colony formation assay revealed that highly aggressive and more mesenchymal cell lines associated with metastasis, including triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), were most responsive. Data from both patient derived organoid and patient derived xenograft models from TNBC where ATYR2810 demonstrated anti-tumor activity showed downregulation of key genes known to promote metastasis and drug resistance, including CXCR4 and a set of genes linked to the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Furthermore, ATYR2810 monotherapy inhibited spontaneous lung metastasis in an experimental model of TNBC, demonstrating the potential therapeutic effects of blocking the NRP2/VEGF signaling axis on preventing tumor persistence. “Highly aggressive tumors such as TNBC have been shown to have elevated NPR2 expression and are typically treated with resection and chemotherapy, though the potential for metastasis and tumor regrowth, which is thought to be strongly linked to the process of EMT, is high. The ability of ATYR2810 to downregulate genes associated with EMT, reduce met...