Protein May Aid Some Disease Treatments

Purdue University scientists have discovered a molecular mechanism that may play a crucial role in cancer, Alzheimer’s and heart disease treatments.

The researchers, using an imaging technique invented at Purdue, found a protein previously believed to be confined to the nucleus of healthy cells actually shuttles between the nucleus and cytoplasm — the region of the cell surrounding the nucleus. Moreover, the protein’s shuttling is controlled by another protein in the nucleus and its attachment to that second protein.

Our findings may provide a new avenue for the development of innovative treatments for certain cancers and other conditions, said Chang-Deng Hu, an assistant professor in Purdue’s department of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology.

The experiments were done using a line of teratocarcinoma malignant tumor cells from mice called F9, which, when subjected to the right biochemical signals, have the ability to alter their properties and are considered to be cancer stem cells.

If stem cells prove to be critical to cancer’s resistance to treatment, new medications might be developed to target cancer stem cells while chemotherapy or radiation is administered, Hu said.

The research is detailed EMBO Journal, published by the European Molecular Biology Organization.