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Tumour development

Tumour development

February 19, 2010
News
Uncategorised

Scientists at Yale University have recently overturned an established belief that in order for a tumour to grow, a cell needs more than one mutation in its genetic material.

Scientists at Yale University have recently overturned an established belief that in order for a tumour to grow, a cell needs more than one mutation in its genetic material.

The team at Yale studied the activity of two genes known to be involved in the development of human cancers. The first gene, called RAS, has been implicated in around 30% of cancers. The second gene, called scribble, is a tumour-suppressing gene that contributes to the formation of a tumour when expressed in a mutated form. A mutation of only one of the genes is not sufficient to cause cancer, so it was thought that both mutated genes needed to coexist in a single cell in order for a malignant tumour to develop. Working with fruit flies, the researchers have shown that it is sufficient for the mutated genes to be present in cells nearby to each other, rather than in a single cell.

The mechanism for triggering the formation of a malignant tumour would appear to be stress.  Environmental stress conditions initiate a signalling process, called JNK, and the signalling travels from one cell to the other. The scientists hope that the identification of JNK may offer another mechanism to aid in the prevention and treatment of cancer. The leader of the tem, Professor Tian Xu said “better understanding of the underlying mechanism causing cancer always offers new tools to battle the disease”.

By Georgina Lavender

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