3 ms·

Those examples do fit: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors turn an always-on enzyme into an always-off one, when the normal behavior is for it to act as an on/off switch

by etal 16y ago

Those examples do fit: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors turn an always-on enzyme into an always-off one, when the normal behavior is for it to act as an on/off switch according to the cell's immediate environment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erlotinib#Side_effects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erlotinib#Side_effects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imatinib#Tolerability_and_adverse_effects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imatinib#Tolerability_and_adver... Once the gene mutates in a cancer cell, it's never going to work properly again (unless all the cancer cells are killed, or the gene is somehow replaced). It's just less harmful if it's disabled than if it's permanently active. Antibiotics tend to kill good bacteria in the body, too. Most people are willing to take a week or two of GI problems and some extra servings of yogurt in exchange for survival, but still, that's some collateral damage. The common problem is, once one part of a system in the body begins malfunctioning, it's very difficult to fix that part without affecting the surrounding system, or other parts that work similarly but aren't malfunctioning.

carbocation 16y ago
Neoplastic TKs are not on/off switches; they are always on. Once you inhibit effectively, they are always off, like you said. But you still have a copy of the normal TK, so most likely things could be perfectly normal if you identified a highly specific TK inhibitor. The current -inibs just aren't specific enough yet, so they have serious side effects. I argue that antibiotics get to the heart of an infection, not that they only kill the bacteria you want to kill. Is it possible to create a drug or engineer a phage to do wo? Yes, sure. But the cost tradeoff is not worth it, on balance. Very few people develop any side effects from most antibiotic treatment, much less weeks of GI discomfort. It definitely happens, but you outlined the treatment for it -and eating yogurt is much cheaper than paying for a theoretical, patented, new superantibiotic that causes mo GI problems.

by etal 16y ago

carbocation 16y ago

Neoplastic TKs are not on/off switches; they are always on. Once you inhibit effectively, they are always off, like you said. But you still have a copy of the normal TK, so most likely things could be perfectly normal if you identified a highly specific TK inhibitor. The current -inibs just aren't specific enough yet, so they have serious side effects. I argue that antibiotics get to the heart of an infection, not that they only kill the bacteria you want to kill. Is it possible to create a drug or engineer a phage to do wo? Yes, sure. But the cost tradeoff is not worth it, on balance. Very few people develop any side effects from most antibiotic treatment, much less weeks of GI discomfort. It definitely happens, but you outlined the treatment for it -and eating yogurt is much cheaper than paying for a theoretical, patented, new superantibiotic that causes mo GI problems.