14 DAY TRIAL // Metastasis, or the uncontrollable spread of tumor cells through the body, is usually the reason why cancer patients die.
Researchers at the Bristol University have recently identified a protein that may play a role in allowing these cells to migrate, potentially paving the way for the creation of new therapies to prevent metastasis.
Using funds from the Breast Cancer Campaign, the team was able to determine that the protein PRH – which usually stops cells from straying in the body – seems to be malfunctioning when cancer cells flake off tumors, and start spreading.
Working together with colleagues at the University of Birmingham, scientists determined that the PRH transcription factors could constitute a valid target for preventing the generalized spread of cancer. This molecule influences the expression of another protein important in cell migration, called Endoglin.
“PRH transcription factor inhibits the migration of normal and cancerous breast cells and prostate cells and this represents a novel mechanism that could be important in multiple cancers,” says study coauthor Dr Kevin Gaston, who is a professor at the Bristol School of Biochemistry.