{"id":2296,"date":"2011-11-22T17:13:26","date_gmt":"2011-11-23T03:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=2296"},"modified":"2021-06-02T11:22:17","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T21:22:17","slug":"cancer-mutation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2011\/11\/22\/cancer-mutation\/","title":{"rendered":"Mutation makes anti-cancer protein a tumor booster"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Three
Clockwise from left, researchers Florian Sulzmaier, Maisel Caliva and Joe Ramos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A protein that slows the growth and spread of ovarian cancer can surprisingly enhance tumor formation in kidney cells that carry a certain mutation, according to a new study from the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Cancer Center<\/a> that has implications for cancer treatment.<\/p>\n

The H-Ras gene regulates cell division. A cancer-promoting mutation in the gene contributes to the development, proliferation and metastasis of tumors in many human malignancies.<\/p>\n

The protein, called PEA-15<\/abbr>, inhibits tumor cell proliferation and metastasis by opposing H-Ras signals. <\/p>\n

While PEA-15<\/abbr> has shown promising potential for treating ovarian and breast cancer and as a marker of prolonged patient survival in ovarian cancer, it may also trigger tumor growth, suggesting caution in pursuing the use of PEA-15<\/abbr> as an anti-cancer therapeutic. <\/p>\n

The new study—the first to report a pro-cancer growth effect of PEA-15<\/abbr>—was published online November 21 in the journal Oncogene<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"microscopic
Microscopic photo of a transformed kidney cell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Our findings reveal a surprising mechanism by which PEA-15<\/abbr> can enhance H-Ras driven transformation of cells, rather than stop it,” said corresponding author Joe W. Ramos<\/strong>, co-director of the UH<\/abbr> Cancer Center’s Cancer Biology Program. PEA-15<\/abbr> accelerated the rate of tumor formation in mouse kidney epithelial cells containing a Ras mutation both in vitro and in vivo.<\/p>\n

The difference relates to the signaling pathways active in a specific tumor cell, he explained.<\/p>\n

“An interplay of factors determines the fate of a patient,” noted lead author Florian Sulzmaier<\/strong>, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering<\/a>. “PEA-15<\/abbr> might still be worth considering for treatment of certain cancers. However, care should be taken in tumor types that carry Ras mutations that could change the outcome of a therapy.”<\/p>\n

The research team also included UH<\/abbr> Mānoa research assistants Mohana Valmiki<\/strong> and Maisel Caliva<\/strong>, Assistant Professor Michelle L. Matter<\/strong> and colleagues at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam. <\/p>\n

The study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute<\/a> and National Institute of General Medical Sciences<\/a> and the Victoria S. and Bradley Geist Foundation.<\/p>\n

Read the abstract in Nature<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A cancer inhibitor can also trigger tumor development according to surprising new UH<\/abbr> Cancer Center findings. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":2342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[218,212,158,169,9],"class_list":["post-2296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-cancer","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-publication","tag-uh-cancer-center","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/oncogene-f.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2296"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":142830,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296\/revisions\/142830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}