Activity of cancer inducing genes can be controlled by the cell's skeleton
Monday, May 6, 2013 - 20:30
in Biology & Nature
Cancer is a complex disease, in which cells undergo a series of alterations, including changes in their architecture; an increase in their ability to divide, to survive and to invade new tissues or metastasis. A category of genes, called oncogenes, is critical during cancer progression, as they codify proteins whose activity favors the development of cancer. One of these molecules, Src, is implicated in a large number of human cancers. However, it is still not clear how healthy cells constrain its activity not to become tumorous. Researchers have now identified a novel mechanism by which the activity of Src is limited by the cell's skeleton (cytoskeleton) limiting the development of tumors.