Metastasis-promoting protein identified
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 07:14
in Health & Medicine
Tumours that are about to progress and metastasise go through a process also seen in normal embryonic development, known as the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). Tumour cells revert to a less-differentiated state, stop adhering to each another and become more mobile and prone to invade and proliferate. Now, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston show, for the first time, that a small protein called lipocalin 2 triggers the EMT in human breast cancer - and that the same protein, when measured in tissues and urine, can predict a cancer's invasiveness. Their findings were published online 23 February by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences...