An ‘Off Switch’ For Cancer Could Be Identified Very Soon

Michigan State University scientists have identified a new mechanism that will help them move closer to finding an "off switch" for cancer.

Cancer cells divide uncontrollably and can move from one part of the body to another. They undergo dramatic shifts in shape when they do so.

Anti-psychotic Drugs Can Fight Major Cancers too
Anti-psychotic drugs can fight major cancers too, Australian research seems to show.

Aaron DeWard, an MSU cell and molecular biology doctoral candidate, and colleagues are trying to figure out how certain proteins trigger cell movement and division and how cancer hijacks the system to create genomic instability.

The researchers studied proteins called formins that help determine the shape of a cell during division and movement.

They identified a new mechanism for regulation of formins during cell division.

Newly Identified Embryonic Gene may Promote Adult Cancer
Scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center have uncovered a gene that plays a key role in activating an oncogene, known as MYC, to promote cancer.

"One of the cool things about these proteins is that they're tightly regulated - they will only do their jobs when they're told to do so," DeWard said, describing formins as the workers that put together the pieces that shape a cell.

"A lot of work has been done on how to get these proteins to work, but not when to stop working.

Researchers Strive for Therapies to Prevent Uncontrolled Cell Division in Cancer
Researchers from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have uncovered a remarkable property of the contractile ring,

"We identified the way in which these proteins get flagged for destruction. This mechanism is pretty common for a lot of proteins, but had never been shown for this family of proteins before, and no one really knew how to shut them off completely," he added.

"Aaron's observation gives us a handle on the molecular machinery controlling cell division," said VARI senior scientific investigator Art Alberts.

"Our goal now is to exploit this information in the development of strategies to specifically stop the process of uncontrolled cell division that characterizes cancer," he added.

The study is published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Source-ANI
ARU