Tag Archives: neuro

Breakthrough in understanding how cancer cells metastasize

The study examined the function of a protein called DENND2B. During childhood development, DENND2B likely plays a role in the normal migration of cells. In adults, cell migration is greatly reduced, but in the case of cancer, there is unwanted cell migration, contributing to one of the most puzzling aspects of cancer cells — metastasis to new locations. “DENND2B activates another protein in the cell called Rab13, which is an enzyme that promotes cell migration,” says Dr. …

Important gene interaction defined that drives aggressive brain cancer

In a study recently published in the journal Neuro-Oncology, a team of scientists led by Luni Emdad, M.B.B.S., Ph.D., and Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D., provided the first evidence of an important link between a specific microRNA, miR-184, and a cancer promoting gene, SND1, in the regulation of malignant glioma. miR-184 is known to suppress tumor development by regulating a variety of genes involved in cancer growth, while SND1 has been shown to play a significant role in the development of breast, colon, prostate and liver cancers. Through a variety of preclinical experiments, the team demonstrated that increasing the expression of miR-184 slows the growth and invasive characteristics of glioma cells through direct regulation of SND1. …

Cancer-promoting protein is vital to safe division of tumor cells

In a paper published in Molecular Cell, Zhimin Lu, Ph.D., professor of Neuro-Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and colleagues report how a tumor-specific protein flips a crucial switch in an irregular mechanism for mitosis that allows cancer cells to safely divide. "Our research shows that tumor cells rely heavily on a distinct mechanism for orderly cell division that’s driven by oncogene-induced pyruvate kinase M2," Lu said. After a cell begins division by replicating all of its chromosomes, mitosis separates them into two identical sets of chromosomes for both cells. After mitosis, cytokinesis completes cell divison. …