Study Offers
Innovative Profile of Enzyme that Aids Tumor Growth
Behind the Cancer Headlines®
Using a combination of enzyme activity and metabolite profiling, researchers at the Scripps Institute have determined that a protein – whose function was previously unknown – serves as a key regulator of a lipid signaling network that contributes to cancer. The study was published in the journal Chemistry & Biology.
According to Benjamin F. Cravatt, a Scripps Research professor and a member of its Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, who led the study, "The heightened expression of KIAA1363 in several cancers indicates that it may be a critical factor in tumorgenesis. In addition, network components, including KIAA1363 itself, might be considered potential diagnostic markers for ovarian cancer."
This experimental method of integrated molecular profiling used in the study should also advance the functional study of metabolic enzymes in any biological system, says Cravatt.
A primary advantage of metabolite profiling in natural biological systems is that it circumvents some of the most time-consuming steps that accompany in vitro enzyme analysis while generating data more directly related to their naturally occurring activities.
"The success of our study opens the door to assembling the full range of enzymes into both metabolic and signaling networks contributing to complex pathologies like cancer," Cravatt said. "This could lead to the discovery of new markers for diagnosis and targets for treatment."
SOURCES:
Chemistry &
Biology,
Scripps Research Institute (http://www.scripps.edu)