Enzyme Blocks The Formation Of New Blood Vessels in Cancer

Almost all the living things require oxygen to grow including cancerous tumors. A feature of the tumors is that it can develop new blood vessels (angiogenesis) if they do not get enough oxygen in order to survive.

The research conducted by Xiang-Lei Yang, PhD, a professor In the Department of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research is published in the journal PLOS Biology.

Artificial Intelligence Powered Microscope Checks Tumor Margins In Minutes
Artificial Intelligence Powered Microscope called DeepDOF is an inexpensive and quick method that can image large tissue sections during cancer surgery in less than two minutes.

‘SerRS (seryl-tRNA synthetase) performs an important function of limiting unhealthy blood vessel growth. By blocking the effect of ATM/ATR on the enzyme SerRS (seryl-tRNA synthetase) the tumor growth was successfully reduced.’
Read More..

Tweet it Now

The study points to the exact molecular machinery that leads to angiogenesis providing scientific insights that can help develop drugs to kill tumors and stop their spread in the body.

These findings can also help develop new interventions which promote healthy blood-vessel development for people with heart diseases and other conditions.

Yang said, 㜁e've uncovered a key regulation step that drives blood-vessel development for tissues deprived of adequate oxygen--finally creating a more complete picture of the complex process that enables cancer tumors to adapt and survive. By blocking this process on a molecular level, we found it's possible to inhibit tumor growth."

Quiz on Chemotherapy Drugs
Chemotherapy involves the administration of medications to fight cancer. Test your knowledge on chemotherapeutic medications by taking this quiz.

Several discoveries related to the roles of unknown genes that regulate the function of how cells create new blood vessels have been published. Earlier studies dealt with genes like c-Myc and HIF-1, that promote blood vessel development, and have strong links to cancer.

Hunt For The Enzyme

How Do Prostate Cancer Cells Resist Treatment?
On prostate cancer cells, there are two genes ACSL3 and ACSL4 that become resistant to treatment. These genes function in an interconnected way.

In the current study, the researchers dealt with the negative regulators of blood vessel growth or proteins that switch off, to find out what leads to their inactivation. This inactivation is seen when the tissues are deprived of oxygen like in solid tumors.

They mainly focused on an enzyme SerRS (seryl-tRNA synthetase) which is a gel-like substance within the cells where it initiates the production of new proteins. However in the nucleus, this enzyme performs a different but important function- limiting unhealthy blood vessel growth by tamping down the function of c-Myc and HIF-1. SeRS can be silenced by proteins called ATM/ATR, which manage DNA damage responses. These proteins are activated when the tissues are deprived of oxygen that can lead to unchecked blood vessel growth so that the tumors can flourish.

Quiz on Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is fast gaining as a common cancer form among men; more threatening since its symptoms often go unnoticed until it’s too late. This quiz tests your knowledge on prostate cancer, its diagnosis and treatment options and is as mandatory for men as the screening tests mentioned here are!

The researchers conducted experiments in mice and human breast cancer cells and confirmed that by blocking the effect of ATM/ATR on SerRS, the tumor growth was successfully reduced.

Yang said, "It's possible that SerRS regulates more than blood vessel development. This is a compelling finding that opens the door to further investigation into how broad its influence may reach in the human body."

Source-Medindia