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@MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social

Post #2637931

2026-05-10 12:44 UTC

You may recall the thalidomide tragedy, a wonder drug for severe morning sickness that caused some babies to be born with severely shortened limbs. The drug was later repurposed as an anticancer drug, but the question remained why does it cause birth defects and why is it effective as an anti cancer drug. Decades of research went into answering that question. In 2010, a paper authored by Takumi Ito Hideki Ando and others working with Hiroshi Handa revealed the target of thalidomide. 2/🧵

Replies (1)

  • @MCDuncanLab@mstdn.social 2026-05-10 12:50

    The target was a protein known as cereblon. Cereblon is a protein that is part of the cell’s quality control system. It flags other proteins for destruction. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1177319 (Sorry paywalled) 3/🧵

    Open ##2637932