Protein Discovery Could Lead to Development of Effective Mesothelioma Treatment
The resistance of pleural mesothelioma, an asbestos-caused pulmonary cancer, to many cancer treatments is due to its apoptotic defect, which prevents the medicines from killing the cancer cells allowing them to continue to grow and divide. Now, scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) have been able to show for the first time how one protein renders another protein ineffective in killing cancer cells by preventing apoptosis from occurring. This finding may lead researchers to the development of a cancer drug that could target these proteins for an effective mesothelioma treatment.
The protein p53, one of the body’s most critical defenses in preventing the production of tumors, can be made powerless in staving off cancer by fortilin – a protein that promotes cancer cell growth. According to Dr. Ken Fujise, lead author of the study and director, Division of Cardiology at UTMB, “When normal cells become cancer cells, our bodies’ natural biological response is to activate p53, which eliminates the hopelessly damaged cells.”
However, Fujise’s research shows that fortilin binds to and inhibits p53, preventing it from activating the cancer killing genes. In fact, Fujise said, fortilin works in direct opposition to p53, with an overexpression of fortilin preventing the damaged or cancerous cells from undergoing apoptosis. Normally apoptosis takes over by killing cells on a regular basis as part of natural growth and development.
Often called “asbestos cancer,” mesothelioma is highly aggressive, and is a very difficult disease to treat. It can be treated with varying degrees of success through the use of surgical procedures, chemotherapy and radiation, but currently there is no known cure for the disease.
Although the research is still in the early stages, the authors concluded that with further validation of the findings, “scientists can begin exploring compounds that could modulate fortilin’s activity on p53,” resulting in a powerful chemotherapy agent.
The study was published in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
