USC Scientists ID Protein That Regulates Cellular Trafficking, See Potential For Anti-Cancer Therapy

Sonali Deshpande
20th October 2013
Published: 10/14/13
URL:http://bhcourier.com/usc-scientists-id-protein-regulates-cellular-trafficking-potential-anti-cancer-therapy/2013/10/14

Summary: 
     Molecular microbiologists at USC's Keck School of Medicine have discovered regulatory mechanisms in cells, that coordinates the processes of the Golgi Apparatus and the Endoplasmic Reticulum, which are important to cellular homeostasis(when an organism adjusts its physical properties to maintain an internal equilibrium) and disease development. If the Golgi Apparatus and the Endoplasmic Reticulum do not perform their jobs well enough to regulate the trafficking of proteins, diseases like cancer can take hold in the cell. The researchers discovered that the UV irradiation resistance-associated gene protein(UVRAG), which has been used to suppress colon and breast cancer coordinates the trafficking of proteins in the Golgi Apparatus and the Endoplasmic Reticulum, which are often dismantled in lethal conditions. This new development can lead to anti-cancer agents that target UVRAGs and the ER-Golgi pathway.

Connection: 
    This article connects to our unit on cells and the organelles in a eukaryotic cell that carry out its many functions. We learnt that the Endoplasmic Reticulum is a maze of membranes in a cell, that produces proteins that are inserted through the membrane, or ribosomes bound to the Endoplasmic Reticulum produce proteins that are then packaged in storage organelles and secreted by the cell. We also learnt that the Golgi Apparatus is an organelle in a cell that modifies, stores, and routes proteins and their chemical products to their next destinations. The ER and Golgi often work together, as enzymes in the Golgi Apparatus refine and modify the ER products by altering their chemical structure.
     This article also connects to the lesson about cancer in our cells unit. We read in our textbook that cancer is a disease caused by the severe disruption of the mechanisms that normally control the cell cycle. The mass of cancer cells, or tumor, can spread into surrounding tissues or even form new tumors. The most used curing methods(which often do not work effectively enough), radiation and chemotherapy, both focus on the disruption of cell division, but this article focuses on the potential of an agent that could control the trafficking of proteins, so that cancer cannot grab a strong hold in the cell or reproduce too much and too quickly.