Enzyme Linked to Skin Cancer
Scientists say discovery could inhibit body’s response to ultraviolet light
HealthDayNews — Scientists think they may have pinpointed an enzyme key to the development of skin cancer.
Further study of this enzyme, called JNK2, could help in the prevention and treatment of nonmelanoma skin cancers, say researchers from the University of Minnesota. Results of their study were presented July 13 at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Washington, D.C.
Many forms of human cancer show elevated activity in some form of JNK2 enzyme, which can be activated by sunlight.
“Even if one goes into the sun for a few minutes, the activity of JNK in the epidermis rises,” lead author Zigang Dong says in a news release.
“If you go out for a few minutes, JNK activity doesn’t stay elevated,” Dong says. “But it looks as though if a person gets too much sun exposure, JNK activity becomes permanently elevated and cancers develop. This study indicates that some form of JNK activity is a key step in the process by which nonmelanoma cancers grow.”
In research with mice, Dong and his colleagues found that, when JNK2 is lacking, skin cells are delayed or inhibited in their response to UVB light, the ultraviolet light that causes skin cancer.
“Knocking out the JNK2 enzyme could simply delay the response to ultraviolet light, but if so, it would be significant,” Dong says.
“If we age enough, every one of us will get cancer,” he says. “But if we can delay the process, that’s good progress.”
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