How cancer cells stay young and aggressive
The BRIC research team has discovered a family of enzymes that prevents cancer cells to age like normal cells. The good news is, that the researchers have developed small molecules that can impede the enzyme activity.
It is researchers Paul Cloos, Jesper Christensen, Karl Agger, and Professor and Director of BRIC, Kristian Helin that have proved how the enzymes, which belongs to a family of enzymes called Jumonji-enzymes, play a role in the development of cancer. They have also established that the enzymes are more frequent in cancer cells than in normal cells.
As cells are ageing, their DNA structures change and become denser. That causes the genes to be less active, which in turn will stop the cell division. The BRIC team has found three Jumonji-enzymes that are capable of loosening the DNA structure. If the cells have too many of the Jumonji-enzymes, the enzymes will make it possible for the genes to cause uncontrolled growth. That can lead to cancer.
The research team are currently working on determining how the Jumonji-enzymes control normal cell growth, and how the increased amount of these enzymes can lead to cancer.
Media Contact
All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry
Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.
Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.
Newest articles
Why getting in touch with our ‘gerbil brain’ could help machines listen better
Macquarie University researchers have debunked a 75-year-old theory about how humans determine where sounds are coming from, and it could unlock the secret to creating a next generation of more…
Attosecond core-level spectroscopy reveals real-time molecular dynamics
Chemical reactions are complex mechanisms. Many different dynamical processes are involved, affecting both the electrons and the nucleus of the present atoms. Very often the strongly coupled electron and nuclear…
Free-forming organelles help plants adapt to climate change
Scientists uncover how plants “see” shades of light, temperature. Plants’ ability to sense light and temperature, and their ability to adapt to climate change, hinges on free-forming structures in their…