Biography

Zukaa Al-Taleb is researching the treatment of tumor diseases through receptor-mediated endocytosis. The use of bacterial signal peptides in the treatment of cancer is being investigated. Bacterial signal peptides may be able to deliver drugs into the cell with the help of formyl peptide receptors (FPRs). This could be used in cancer therapy, as FPRs are highly enriched on the surface of various types of cancer cells and their precursor cells, whereas they are rarely found in the surrounding healthy tissue. There is also evidence that FPRs play an important role in the occurrence of metastases and contribute to tumor growth. The fact that the activation of FPRs by bacterial signaling peptides stimulates endocytosis makes them attractive for drug delivery directly inside cancer cells.