histones are like DNA spools, the more spools, the more gradual the rate of DNA replication. They found during the mid 20th century that removing them from yeast causes the yeast to grow 3 to 5 times as rapidly.
Noting that oncocytes also have histones, lets deliver drugs to cancers that cause them to produce more histones, or histones that move more gradually. It seems to me that siRNA that cause gooifying or gradualization of what may be otherwise normal histones would strongly slow cancer growth permitting the immune system to outpace the cancer.
Another advantage of this histone velocity modification approach to cancer drugs is the reduction of the velocity of metstatization.
Bringing the chemicals that effect histone velocitization change to cancer cytes could occur with gene therapy to angiogenesis, programming rapifly dividine endothelial cytes to also make histone slowing cytokines
One pleasant thing about this is that it might work on all cancers
Another use, which would be anticancer as well as beneficial generally would be to reduce the number of histones at hematopoeisis, which generates the immune systems leukocytes. Both making these more rapidly, as well as making particular leukocytes with more rapid DNA processing as they wandered the body, could create a generically stronger more quickly responsive immune system-- beanangel, Oct 23 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histone [beanangel, Oct 23 2012] Where to begin?
All (eukaryotic) cells have histones, and they generally have as much of them as they need. So, any growth inhibitor which targets histones is going to be as non-selective as all the old-style chemotherapeutics.
Not to say you couldn't find a way to target histone-modifying drugs to cancer cells (targetting is a big goal for many therapeutics). But why pick histones?
Histone modification is also a major mechanism of gene regulation, so you're likely to open a pandoras box of worms.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Oct 24 2012 Where is my Pandora's can opener?
This sounds like a terrible idea. I'm only heartened that no mechanism is proposed to carry it out.
Beanie, we need more meat, "deliver a toxin to the cancer" isn't a new idea nor is it really a "cure".-- WcW, Oct 24 2012 By extension of this concept, injection of hertones should aggravate cancerous cells and enhance growth, but it just doesn't work that way. Examination of inverse properties is a vital step in the preparation of a hypothesis.-- Alterother, Oct 24 2012 Just looked at this in case my intuition about the writer was incorrect, but my suspicions were confirmed.-- nineteenthly, Oct 26 2012 As were ours.
// Pandora's can opener? //
[WcW], you should post that ...-- 8th of 7, Oct 26 2012 random, halfbakery