Enzyme helps prepare lung tissue for metastatic development
Thursday, February 17, 2011 - 13:50
in Biology & Nature
A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) study has identified a new role for an important enzyme in preparing lung tissue for the development of metastases. Published in the early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the report describes how focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is involved in producing areas of vascular leakiness in lung tissue - known to be part of the premetastatic process - and increases expression of a molecule that attracts cancer cells to potential metastatic sites...