Scienceblogtwo

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:...

Neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer that develops from neural cells on the adrenal glands, kills 15% of children who die from cancer. The MYCN (MYCN amplified) gene, which is the primary cause of neuroblastoma and the main factor contributing to its resistance to therapy, is present in over 50% of children with high-risk neuroblastoma. It has proven difficult to treat neuroblastoma by specifically targeting MYCN, according to Dr. Eveline Barbieri, an assistant professor of pediatrics - hematology and oncology at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital and the study's corresponding author. In this work, we looked for metabolic vulnerabilities that we could exploit to overcome the resistance of these tumors to therapy. The goal was to improve the survival of children with MYCN amplified neuroblastoma. Using an unbiased, metabolomics approach, Barbieri and her colleagues compared the metabolic profiles of MYCN-amplified neuroblastomas to the profiles of non-MYCN-amp...