Why aren’t other scientists using Zantrene® to inhibit FTO in...

Why aren’t other scientists using Zantrene® to inhibit FTO in their studies?

FTO is a very, very hot topic in cancer research right now. In just the last few years, hundreds of papers have been published linking FTO with cancer progression, with new papers appearing almost weekly. Research teams across the globe have investigated the effect of FTO inhibition across many types of cancer. While it is exciting to see how clear the demand for an effective FTO inhibitor is, it does pose a puzzle. If Zantrene was identified in June 2020 as the most potent inhibitor of FTO, why have only two teams since then (Chicago University and Lille University) used it in their research? We can’t know with certainty, but there are three possible answers:

1. The research pre-dates Zantrene’s identification as an inhibitor of FTO. Good research papers can often take over two years from design to publication. The experiments and methods are planned well in advance. Papers published between June 2020 and late 2021 may have had their inhibitor selected before Zantrene was identified. This is becoming a less plausible excuse in 2022; but large, extensive papers may still fall under this category.
2. The investigators are indifferent. Some papers will have used a different FTO inhibitor but still acknowledge Zantrene as a potent inhibitor, like this recent paper. This would suggest that sometimes, the investigators aren’t really fussed about using the ‘best’ inhibitor. When working in vitro (cell cultures and test tubes) and not in animals, the IC50 of the drug isn’t as important.
3. The investigators are willfully ignorant. If the paper is about developing or identifying new inhibitors, you can bet they won’t mention Zantrene. These investigators require funding to continue their research. As Dr Tillet explains here, teams looking to develop their own inhibitors are unlikely to acknowledge there is a better inhibitor out there and already in Phase II trials.