Australian researchers have identified a protein complex, which plays an important role in preventing the development of lymphoma. The work was published in Nature Communications (Natcom).
It is a malignant disease of the lymphoma lymphatic system, in which case the activity of immune cells (lymphocytes) is disrupted. They begin to be uncontrollably divided and pushed out healthy blood cells, which leads to increasing lymphatic nodes, weakening of immunity and damage to internal organs.
Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and Peter McCalum Cancer Center used large-scale genomic screening to find out which genes and proteins are involved in protecting blood cancer. It turned out that the Gator1 protein complex acts as a kind of "brake" that regulates cell growth and metabolism.
When Gator1 components are lost or do not work properly, cells begin to be uncontrollably divided, which significantly increases the risk of development of lymphoma.
"The best side of a well-designed crisPR screen is that it always finds something new," said Dr. Margaret Potts. "We did not limit it with well-known paths, but we studied all the genes. This helped us to discover the oppressors of the unexpected tumor, including Gator1. "
It was especially important that the existing drugs that target the same Gator1 signal routes slowly slowly the growth of the lymphoma in pre-clinical models. These drugs have previously been effective in cancer therapy, but the authors believe that it may be due to the fact that it has not been possible to identify patients with this specific path.
"Our work opens individualized medicine when treatment is adapted to certain molecular anomalies near the patient," Potts added.
The main author of the article, Professor Marko Herold, emphasized that the discovery is directly related to the main "engines" of the growth of the tumor.
"Our lymphoma models show that in the absence of Gator1, an important brake is removed, which restrains the malignancy caused by Myc oncogen. This gene is active in this or that form of all human tumors in about 70%, "he explained.
Translation of: Euromedia24.com
