06
Feb
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An international group of scientists, with Spanish participation, has succeeded in describing the importance of the CDK8 gene associated with nearly half of colon cancers.
The importance of gene lies both in the genesis and development of such tumor, which is most common among the population.
The findings of this research, published in the latest issue of Nature, have been confirmed not only in preclinical models but also in tumor samples from patients, told EFE Josep Tabernero, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona.
Tabernero is one of the experts involved in this work, directed by William Hahn, Cancer Institute Dana-Farber in Boston (USA).
The CDK8 gene is overactive in many colon cancer cells, said the Spanish scientist.
Colon cancer arises through the transformation of normal tissue to a sequence adenoma
(polyps) and finally to carcinoma.
This is because, among other reasons, an activation of the pathway called Wnt / beta catenin, which is "indicative of transmission of information" from the surface of the cancer cell membrane to the nucleus to the cell to divide and proliferate.
Knowledge of the factors that trigger this type of track, and act as signals for information transmission and cell division are several besides the Wnt / beta catenin, allow the development of new drugs that might inhibit the triggers of such processes.
Although colon cancer there are several "signs" for cellular activation and scientists already knew that the way Wnt / beta catenin was important in that sense, was unknown, however, the importance of the CDK8 gene activation process that route, on which there are still few studies because of its complexity.
According Tabernero, CDK8 gene generates a protein of the same name which, when activated, turns out to be a key factor for the activation of Wnt / cateniana to occur and therefore the transformation of a benign cell to the malignant state their proliferation.
When it is discovered that the CDK8 gene is an oncogene important for activation of that pathway, therapeutic interventions could be made to block "the switch, ie not lit, and was always off.
It has been established in experimental models that blocking CDK8 gene disables the protein that generates, thereby obliterating the tumor, Tabernero said.
In this research, scientists have used a technique that would not apply in real life and so have sought drugs to be supplied to the patient with the same function or inactivating the gene encoding protein.
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