Can this protein prevent or kill breast cancer tumors?
BY Ron Gilmore
August 12, 2015
Medically Reviewed | Last reviewed by an MD Anderson Cancer Center medical professional on August 12, 2015
Every parent knows the maxim ¡°feed a cold, starve a fever.¡± In cancer, however, exactly how to feed or starve a tumor has not been easy to determine.
A study led by scientists at MD Anderson Cancer Center has shown that a simple molecule called 14-3-3 sigma could be one answer for explaining cancer metabolism, the chemical process by which a tumor forms, grows or dies.
¡°We know that all cancers grow by learning how to reprogram their metabolism,¡± said Mong-Hong Lee, Ph.D., professor of Molecular and Cellular Oncology. ¡°But exactly how this occurs has not been fully understood. Our study showed that 14-3-3 sigma opposes and reverses tumor-promoting metabolic programs.¡±
Lee¡¯s study results, which appeared in , reveal new understanding about how 14-3-3 sigma ¡ª a cell cycle ¡°controller¡± ¡ª regulates cancer metabolic programming, thus protecting healthy cells from turning into tumor-producing factories.
In vivo and in vitro experiments showed that, among many biochemical effects, 14-3-3 sigma suppresses cancer glycosis, which prevents cancer¡¯s ability to convert glucose into pyruvate, a substance essential for cell growth.
¡°14-3-3 sigma expression levels can help predict overall and recurrence-free survival rates, tumor glucose uptake and metabolic gene expression in breast cancer patients,¡± Lee said. ¡°These results highlight that 14-3-3 sigma is an important regulator of tumor metabolism, and loss of 14-3-3 sigma expression is critical for cancer metabolic reprogramming.¡±
Lee believes that the study findings provide additional insight about the ¡°crosstalk¡± between cancer metabolism and cell cycle.
¡°We anticipate that pharmacologically elevating 14-3-3 sigma¡¯s function in tumors could be a promising direction for targeted anti-cancer metabolism therapy development in the future,¡± he said.