PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Researchers uncover new role of mutant proteins in some of the deadliest cancers

Findings could point to new ways to treat RAS-driven cancers

Researchers uncover new role of mutant proteins in some of the deadliest cancers
2024-11-11
(Press-News.org) Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and their collaborators have discovered a new way in which RAS genes, which are commonly mutated in cancer, may drive tumor growth beyond their well-known role in signaling at the cell surface. Mutant RAS, they found, helps to kick off a series of events involving the transport of specific nuclear proteins that lead to uncontrolled tumor growth, according to a study published November 11, 2024, in Nature Cancer.

RAS genes are the second most frequently mutated genes in cancer, and mutant RAS proteins are key drivers of some of the deadliest cancers, including nearly all pancreatic cancers, half of colorectal cancers, and one-third of lung cancers. Decades of research have shown that mutant RAS proteins promote the development and growth of tumors by activating specific proteins at the cell surface, creating a constant stream of signals telling cells to grow.

“This is the first study to show that mutated RAS genes can promote cancer in an entirely new way,” said study author Douglas Lowy, M.D., deputy director of NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI). “The finding of the additional role for RAS proteins has exciting implications for improving treatment.”

Drugs that block mutant RAS proteins have been available as cancer treatments for only a few years and have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat lung cancer and sarcoma. Although their development was a major scientific success, RAS inhibitors have thus far had a limited impact on patient outcomes, improving survival by only a few months in most people.

Over 35 years ago, a group led by Dr. Lowy contributed to the early studies that identified RAS as a cancer-causing gene and helped explain how it promotes tumor growth. In this new study, the research team found that mutant RAS is directly involved in the process of releasing a nuclear protein called EZH2 from a complex transported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Once released, EZH2 facilitates the breakdown of a tumor suppressor protein called DLC1. Blocking mutant RAS stopped EZH2 from being released, restoring the activity of DLC1.

In experiments in human lung cancer cell lines and mouse models of lung cancer, the researchers found that combining RAS inhibitors with different targeted cancer drugs that reactivate DLC1’s tumor suppressor activity had potent activity against cancer—more potent than that of RAS inhibitors alone.

The study also found evidence that mutant RAS proteins perform this same function in other cancer types, suggesting that this mechanism may be a general feature of cancers with mutated RAS genes.

The researchers believe their finding may have potential applications for the treatment of RAS-fueled cancers. They have started to look at how this function for RAS works in pancreatic cancer in particular because there are so few effective treatments for this type of cancer.

“New treatment combinations could one day be developed that take this new role for RAS into consideration,” Dr. Lowy said.

###

About the National Cancer Institute (NCI): NCI leads the National Cancer Program and NIH’s efforts to dramatically reduce the prevalence of cancer and improve the lives of people with cancer. NCI supports a wide range of cancer research and training extramurally through grants and contracts. NCI’s intramural research program conducts innovative, transdisciplinary basic, translational, clinical, and epidemiological research on the causes of cancer, avenues for prevention, risk prediction, early detection, and treatment, including research at the NIH Clinical Center—the world’s largest research hospital. Learn more about the intramural research done in NCI’s Center for Cancer Research. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI website at cancer.gov or call NCI’s contact center at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit nih.gov.

END


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Researchers uncover new role of mutant proteins in some of the deadliest cancers

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Patients may become unnecessarily depressed by common heart medicine

Patients may become unnecessarily depressed by common heart medicine
2024-11-11
All patients who have had a heart attack are typically treated using beta blockers. According to a Swedish study conducted earlier this year, this drug is unlikely to be needed for those heart patients who have a normal pumping ability. Now a sub-study at Uppsala University shows that there is also a risk that these patients will become depressed by the treatment. “We found that beta blockers led to slightly higher levels of depression symptoms in patients who had had a heart attack but were not suffering from heart failure. At the same time, beta blockers have no life-sustaining function for this group of patients,” says Philip Leissner, a doctoral student in cardiac ...

Largest T cell clinical trial in solid tumors heralds new era in precision immunotherapy

2024-11-11
The largest ever clinical trial of T cell therapy (a type of cell-based immunotherapy) for solid tumours has been completed. Led by a Singapore clinician-investigator, the global, international, multisite trial recruited 330 advanced nasopharyngeal (NPC) cancer patients in 23 sites across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and the United States. The trial did not show an overall survival benefit for the entire patient cohort but a subset analysis combining outcomes of US, Singapore and Taiwanese sites, showed better progression free survival ...

Call for applications: Participation in the 12th Heidelberg Laureate Forum for Outstanding Young Researchers in Mathematics and Computer Science

Call for applications: Participation in the 12th Heidelberg Laureate Forum for Outstanding Young Researchers in Mathematics and Computer Science
2024-11-11
The application process for the 12th Heidelberg Laureate Forum has begun! Young researchers in mathematics and computer science from all over the world can apply for one of the 200 exclusive spots to participate in the Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF), an annual networking conference. The HLF offers all accepted young researchers the unique opportunity to interact with the laureates of the most prestigious prizes in the fields of mathematics and computer science. Traditionally, the recipients of the Abel Prize, the ACM A.M. Turing Award, the ACM Prize in Computing, ...

A milestone for reproductive medicine: Producing viable eggs from undeveloped oocytes through In vitro technology

A milestone for reproductive medicine: Producing viable eggs from undeveloped oocytes through In vitro technology
2024-11-11
Mature egg cells, or oocytes, are essential for fertilization in assisted reproductive technologies. However, some ‘denuded’ oocytes, or those lacking the protective granulosa cell layer, fail to mature. Now, in a new study by researchers at Shinshu University, the team has developed a method to culture mature oocytes from these denuded oocytes in the lab. This innovative approach holds promise for overcoming significant challenges in reproductive science, marking a major advancement in fertility research. Assisted ...

Vast majority of Trump voters believe American values and prosperity are ‘under threat’

2024-11-11
Almost nine out of ten voters who supported Donald Trump for US President believe that America’s values, traditions and future economic prosperity are under threat – double the number of Kamala Harris supporters.  This is according to new data from Cambridge University’s Political Psychology lab, who worked with YouGov to conduct an opinion poll of US voters shortly before the election.* Some 89% of Trump voters agree that “American values and beliefs are being undermined and cherished traditions are under threat” compared ...

Scientists investigate if red grape chemical can keep bowel cancer at bay

2024-11-11
Cancer Research UK-funded scientists are finding out if an ingredient commonly found in grape juice and wine could keep bowel cancer at bay. Resveratrol – a naturally occurring ingredient found in grapes, blueberries, raspberries and peanuts – will be tested as a potential cancer prevention drug as part of the Cancer Research UK-funded COLO-PREVENT trial. The trial is led from the University of Leicester and the National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre. The trial ...

The refrigerator as a harbinger of a better life

2024-11-09
To get a good sense of a country’s level of development, you need to look at the items people have in their homes, according to economists Rutger Schilpzand and Jeroen Smits from Radboud University. Research on low- and middle-income countries often focuses on income, health or education, but that doesn’t tell you the full story of a country’s situation. ‘That’s why, for the first time, we are mapping out how the material wealth of households is developing,’ Schilpzand explains. The researchers coin this material wealth growth for households the 'domestic transition'. ...

Windfall profits from oil and gas could cover climate payments

2024-11-09
A central issue at the UN Climate Change Conference, set to start on November 11, will be the negotiations on new payments from industrialized nations to poorer countries. However, the question of whether and how these payments will be financed remains highly controversial. The study by an international team of researchers, with participation by the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has now revealed: The windfall profits alone taken in by oil and gas companies due to the 2022 energy crisis would have been sufficient to cover the existing commitments of the industrialized nations for nearly five years. The researchers ...

Heartier Heinz? How scientists are learning to help tomatoes beat the heat

2024-11-08
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — By studying tomato varieties that produce fruit in exceptionally hot growing seasons, biologists at Brown University identified the growth cycle phase when tomatoes are most vulnerable to extreme heat, as well as the molecular mechanisms that make the plants more heat tolerant. The discovery, detailed in a study in Current Biology, could inform a key strategy to protect the food supply in the face of climate instability, the researchers said. Agricultural productivity is particularly vulnerable to climate change, the study noted, and rising temperatures are predicted to reduce crop yields by 2.5% to 16% for every ...

Breaking carbon–hydrogen bonds to make complex molecules

Breaking carbon–hydrogen bonds to make complex molecules
2024-11-08
A team of scientists led by Caltech and Emory University has synthesized a highly complex natural molecule using a novel strategy that functionalizes normally nonreactive bonds, called carbon–hydrogen (C–H) bonds. The work demonstrates a new category of reactions that organic chemists can consider as they work to create natural products that could be used in pharmaceuticals or new materials, or to produce organic chemicals in more sustainable ways.   "This work moves the field forward by showing the power of C–H functionalization," says ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

An advance toward inhalable mRNA medications, vaccines

A step toward safer X-rays with new detector technology

On the origin of life: How the first cell membranes came to exist

New evidence-based information from NCCN offers tangible and moral support for people trying to quit smoking

Solving complex problems faster: Innovations in Ising machine technology

Grief-specific cognitive behavioral therapy vs present-centered therapy

New species discovered with refined DNA technology

C-PATH announces Gender Equitable Medicines for Parkinson's Disease (GEM-PD) initiative

Faster flowing glaciers could help predict nearby volcanic activity

MIT engineers make converting CO2 into useful products more practical

Primary care professionals key to helping people achieve & maintain heart health

Early detection, intensive treatment critical for high-risk patients with Kawasaki Disease

A phase-transformable membrane for efficient gas separation could revolutionize industrial applications

From camera to lab: Dr. Etienne Sibille transforms brain aging and depression research

Depression rates in LGBTQIA+ students are three times higher than their peers, new research suggests

Most parents don’t ask about firearms in the homes their kids visit

Beer-only drinkers’ diets are worse than wine drinkers

Eco-friendly biomass pretreatment method yields efficient biofuels and adsorbents

How graph convolutions amplify popularity bias for recommendation?

New lignin-based hydrogel breakthrough for wound healing and controlled drug release

Enhancing compatibility and biodegradability of PLA/biomass composites via forest residue torrefaction

Time alone heightens ‘threat alert’ in teenagers – even when connecting on social media

Study challenges long-held theories on how migratory birds navigate 

Unlocking the secrets of ketosis

AI analysis of PET/CT images can predict side effects of immunotherapy in lung cancer

Making an impact. Research studies a new side of helmet safety: faceguard failures

Specific long term condition combinations have major role in NHS ‘winter pressures’

Men often struggle with transition to fatherhood amid lack of targeted information and support

More green space linked to fewer preventable deaths in most deprived areas of UK

Immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab improves outcomes for patients with soft tissue sarcoma

[Press-News.org] Researchers uncover new role of mutant proteins in some of the deadliest cancers
Findings could point to new ways to treat RAS-driven cancers