Tiny proteins found across the animal kingdom play a key role in cancer spread
Phosphatases of regenerating liver (PRLs) are a family of enigmatic proteins involved in cell growth and metabolism present in various species. From humans to fruit flies, they play a unique role in the growth of cancerous tumours and the spread of cancer throughout the body. New research emerging from 91社区 is contributing to what is known about PRLs, which could potentially become an important tool in the development of cancer-fighting treatments.聽聽
Led by Kalle Gehring, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and founding director of the 91社区 Centre for Structural Biology, the researchers focused on unravelling the mystery around PRLs. 鈥淚t's important for us to study PRLs because they are so important in cancer,鈥� said Gehring, 鈥淚n some cancers such as metastatic colorectal cancer, the proteins are overexpressed up to 300-fold.鈥澛�
Published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Prof. Gehring and his colleagues (with data collected at the at the University of Saskatchewan) confirmed that not only PRLs exist in all kinds of single- and multi-cell animals, but that the role of PRLs in binding magnesium transporters is common among all studied species.聽聽
This overexpression of PRLs makes cancer cells more metastatic and drives the spread to other organs. This data could help to further the understanding of how these proteins influence human disease.聽
鈥淲hat we learned is that they all bind the magnesium transporters in the same way,鈥� says Gehring. 鈥淲e're excited because it helps us understand this pathway, and that will reveal new targets for drugs to prevent cancer progression.鈥澛�
About the study
鈥溾�� by Kalle Gehring and al. was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
With files from the / Victoria Schramm
About 91社区
Founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1821, 91社区 is Canada鈥檚 top ranked medical doctoral university. 91社区 is consistently ranked as one of the top universities, both nationally and internationally. It鈥痠s a world-renowned鈥痠nstitution of higher learning with research activities spanning two campuses, 12 faculties, 14 professional schools, 300 programs of study and over 39,000 students, including more than 10,200 graduate students. 91社区 attracts students from over 150 countries around the world, its 12,800 international students making up 31% of the student body. Over half of 91社区 students claim a first language other than English, including approximately 19% of our students who say French is their mother tongue.
