Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have used highly sophisticated molecular analyzes for the purpose of identifying key proteins that signal pathways which lung cancer uses to spread in the body. The study has been published in internationally acclaimed Journal Cell. It has identified brand new proteins that get activated when cancer cells mutate and contribute towards the growth of tumor.
After a long period of seven years of in-depth analysis of signaling networks in lung tissue, these researchers are the first in the world to have mapped the networks of proteins that control the pathways used by cancer cells to spread in lung. They have used the technology to quantify and map the signaling network of proteins in the lungs. They then compared their findings with analysis of lung cancer mutations from patients in large databases.
Professor Jesper Velgaard Olsen of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research said, “We have developed completely new methods to map the main signaling networks in lung tissue and the proteins that control the spread of cancer in lung tissue. We have done so to understand what is actually happening in cancer mutations.”
The study has also shown that lung cancer cells can use tissue mutations and recruit other proteins. This, in turn, increases the growth potential of cancer cells. Using cancer map, the scientists will be able to see what happens when new cancer mutations occur. Also, they can identify signaling pathways and proteins networks which are involved in the spread of lung cancer in the body. The researchers have also looked into protein networks that control EGD receptors in liver tissue. The next step is to identify the rest of body tissues.
The results of the study could play a major role in helping cancer researchers who are working towards finding the root of tumor growth for all kinds of cancers.
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