Sergey Shityakov and Carola Förster of the University of Würzburg, Germany, explain that the protein, P-glycoprotein, acts as a gatekeeper, flushing out potentially harmful chemicals that enter the body as well as the naturally-occurring products of metabolism. …
In the Nov. 7 issue of Cell, investigators pinpoint two cellular enzymes — Type 2 phosphatidylinositol-5-phosphate 4-kinases and β (Type 2 PIP kinases) — as essential for cancer growth when cells have lost p53, the powerful tumor-suppressor gene long dubbed the "guardian of the genome." More than half of all cancers lose this gene, allowing these cancers to grow at will. The researchers discovered that the Type 2 PIP kinases are not critical for the growth of normal cells but become essential for cell growth when p53 is lost due to mutations or deletions. The scientists showed, in animal and lab studies of human cancer cells, that targeting these molecules effectively shuts down the growth of p53 mutant cancers…
This is an unexpected finding, as some cancers keep this pathway turned on to fuel their unchecked growth and expansion. …
PLK4 is one of the key proteins required to control centriole formation: in its absence centrioles fail to form, while in excess PLK4 induces the formation of an extra number of those structures. Bettencourt-Dias’ team has now identified how PLK4 controls its levels, and ultimately the number of centrioles. By performing different biochemical assays, the researchers observed that PLK4 is capable of auto-regulating its levels by adding chemical groups of phosphate to itself, which will act as a signal for destruction. However, if PLK4 kills itself too early this will prevent it from ensuring the control of centriole number. …
In treating many types of cancer, doctors often use combi-nation of chemotherapy with other treatments. The cytostatic agents used are designed to target faster growing cancer cells. But there is little consistency in how different patients respond to the various treatments: even when dealing with the same type of tumor, there are vast differences in tumor cell reaction to a given treatment…
The findings provide a better understanding of how grafted tissue changes its identity to match the host tissue environment during the process of limb regeneration and bring scientists closer to establishing regenerative therapies for humans. The results also challenge the conventional assumption in regeneration biology that cellular properties are predetermined. By examining cells from blastema tissue in salamanders — amphibians that can regrow lost limbs — the researchers learned that grafted tissue does not spur growth of structures consistent with the region of the limb it came from, but rather it transforms into the cell signature of the limb region it’s been grafted onto. …
Actively growing cells must synthesize large amounts of protein, which in turn requires huge numbers of protein production plants, the so-called ribosomes. Ribosomes themselves consist of proteins mounted on a framework of ribosomal RNA…
Diamonds are sometimes considered as a girl’s best friend. Now, this expression is about to have a new meaning. Indeed, nanometric scale diamond particles could offer a new way to detect cancer far earlier than previously thought…
In many cancers, a tumor suppressor protein called retinoblastoma is deactivated because of an increase in the activity of the proteins CDK 4 and 6. …
The Lund University research team has looked at how cancer cells communicate with surrounding cells and how this encourages the development of malignant tumours. The idea is to try and inhibit tumours by disrupting this communication. The focus of their research is ‘exosomes’, small virus-like particles that serve as ‘transport packages’ for genetic material and proteins transmitted between cells. …