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【bio-news】遗传上的四人帮驱动乳腺癌的扩散 A
Studies of human tumor cells implanted in mice have shown that the abnormal activation of four genes drives the spread of breast cancer to the lungs. The new studies by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers reveal that the aberrant genes work together to promote the growth of primary breast tumors. Cooperation among the four genes also enables cancerous cells to escape into the bloodstream and penetrate through blood vessels into lung tissues.
Although shutting off these genes individually can slow cancer growth and metastasis, the researchers found that turning off all four together had a far more dramatic effect on halting cancer growth and metastasis. Metastasis occurs when cells from a primary tumor break off and invade another organ. It is the deadliest transformation that a cancer can undergo, and therefore researchers have been looking for specific genes that propel metastasis.
“While silencing these genes individually was effective, silencing the quartet nearly completely eliminated tumor growth and spread.”
Joan Massagué
In the newly published experiments, the researchers also found that they could reduce the growth and spread of human breast tumors in mice by simultaneously targeting two of the proteins produced by these genes, using drugs already on the market. The researchers are exploring clinical testing of combination therapy with the drugs—cetuximab (trade name Erbitux) and celecoxib (Celebrex)—to treat breast cancer metastasis.
The research team, led by Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Joan Massagué at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, published its findings in articles in the April 12, 2007, issue of the journal Nature and in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on April 9, 2007.
这篇文章用事实说明，单个单个的研究某个分子的功能，具有很的局限性。很多现象是多个蛋白或基因协同引起的。 这也是目前基因注释研究的一个热点和难点。
原文有点长，我摘录的这些已经把意思说完了。详细的可以看 http://www.hhmi.org/news/massague20070412.html [标签:content1][标签:content2]
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-02-25 17:11
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