About Pento

Collaborations between Roger Harrison and Tom Pento, which cross both disciplinary lines and campus boundaries, have resulted in some exciting medical advances.

One of the most recent: an engineered protein that destroys or blocks the spread of cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed.

Harrison, an associate professor of chemical, biological and materials engineering on the University of Oklahoma’s Norman campus, and Pento, Noble Foundation Presidential professor of pharmacy at the OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, report their latest findings in the May 20 issue of Anticancer Research.

Their novel fusion protein (a fusion protein consists of two or more different proteins or peptides linked together) targets an anticancer agent to the surface of cancer cells only. Preliminary tests suggest its potential as a cancer therapy far superior to many current cancer treatments, which fail because they are not selective enough and cause side effects so harmful that they compromise the benefits of treatment.

The Harrison-Pento technology, which is being tested on breast cancer cells, also has potential applications for other cancers and blood diseases. A patent is pending.