Fewer Side Effects: A New Potential Cancer Treatment Target



One novel target for the therapy of cancer has been identified by researchers.

Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that controls the growth of tumors in mice and cell cultures. This discovery may eventually lead to the development of novel medications for the treatment of various cancer illnesses.

In a report that was recently published in Nature Communications, the Gothenburg researchers provided in-depth explanations of their findings. It has to do with a protein that binds genetic material and is responsible for traits that control tumor growth, as recent study has revealed.

The IER3 and IER3-AS1 genes encode the HnRNPK protein, which binds to messenger RNA (mRNA). These genes are quite active in several cancer types. The HnRNPK binds to the mRNA of these genes to stop the formation of double-stranded RNA between them.

Meena and Chandrasekhar Kanduri are students at the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy. Credit: Elin Lindström, Gothenburg University

"Tumors that rely on growth factors grow faster when the RNA from these two genes is kept apart. One of the research coordinators behind the study, Chandrasekhar Kanduri, is a professor of medical genetics at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. "Without the HnRNPK protein, the properties that promote tumor growth are neutralized, paving the way for the development of drugs that block the HnRNPK," he says.

The study also shows that the HnRNPK protein binds to the mRNA of several other genes in a way that hinders the formation of double-strand RNA.

The discovery raises the prospect of indirectly controlling the growth factor FGF-2, which is well known to be crucial for early embryonic development as well as the process by which stem cells differentiate into different cell types.

The article's corresponding author is Meena Kanduri, an associate professor (docent) in molecular medicine at Sahlgrenska Academy.

Drugs that directly target the growth factor would have too many negative effects because of the critical role that FGF-2 plays in healthy human development. The mechanism we have just discovered is a later link in the same signaling chain. So, with fewer side effects, the mechanism could become a more appealing cancer treatment alternative, according to her.

To confirm that the results from mouse and cell culture experiments can be applied to humans, more study is required. The team's next step is to do extensive research to learn more about how the pair of genes controlled by FGF-2 regulate the environment in which tumors grow.

Reference: "HnRNPK maintains single strand RNA through controlling double-strand RNA in mammalian cells," Sagar Mahale, Meenakshi Setia, Bharat Prajapati, Santhilal Subhash, Mukesh Pratap Yadav, Subazini Thankaswamy Kosalai, Jagannath Kuchlyan, Ananya Deshpande, Mirco Di Marco, Fredrik Westerlund, L. Marcus

By UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG 

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