Research sheds light on workings of anti-cancer drug

(Northwestern University) The copper sequestering drug tetrathiomolybdate (TM) has been shown in studies to be effective in the treatment of Wilson disease, a disease caused by an overload of copper, and certain metastatic cancers.

That much is known. Very little, however, is known about how the drug works at the molecular level. A new study led by Northwestern University researchers now has provided an invaluable clue: the three-dimensional structure of TM bound to copper-loaded metallochaperones.