Guardian molecule found to prevent cancer cells from changing identity

Guardian molecule found to prevent cancer cells from changing identity

A guardian molecule ensures that liver cells do not lose their identity. This has been discovered by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the Hector Institute für Translational Brain Research (HITBR), and from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).

Guardian molecule keeps cells on track: New perspectives for the treatment of liver cancer

A guardian molecule ensures that liver cells do not lose their identity. This has been discovered by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the Hector Institute für Translational Brain Research (HITBR), and from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).

Guardian Molecule PROX1 Prevents Liver Cancer by Keeping Cells on Track

Cancer cells have a remarkable ability to alter their identity, reactivating embryonic programs that allow them to migrate and spread throughout the body. This unwanted plasticity is a key driver of tumor progression, but researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) have identified a potential way to stop it. Their study, published in Nature, reveals that a molecule called PROX1 a…

Guardian molecule keeps cells on track – new perspectives for the treatment of liver cancer - German Cancer Research CenterLogo des Deutschen KrebsforschungszentrumsLogo des Deutschen KrebsforschungszentrumLogo der Deutschen Zentren der Gesundheitsforschu

As a rule, the identity of cells is determined during embryonic development. They differentiate into nerve cells or liver cells, for example, and their fate is sealed. Only stem cells retain the ability to develop in different directions. However, once cells have differentiated, they usually stay on course. Cancer cells can change their identity Cancer cells are different. They have the amazing ability to reactivate embryonic programs and thus c…

A special puppeteer holds the strings to liver cells' identity

Summary A new collaborative study by Judith Zaugg and Moritz Mall, Group Leaders at EMBL and DKFZ respectively, led to the identification of a crucial protein, called PROX1, able to maintain liver cell identity and prevent liver cancer formation. In liver cancer patient samples, higher levels of PROX1 correlate with better prognosis and longer survival. In preclinical liver cancer mouse models, PROX1 can halt cancer formation and slow down can…