Enzyme used in antidepressants could help researchers develop prostate cancer treatments

Simon Koch-Sultan
Author: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Published: June 1, 2014
Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140601113953.htm

Summary:
According to the source, the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, an international team of scientists affiliated with the aforementioned medical center and  discovered that an enzyme commonly used as a target for antidepressants may also promote the growth of prostate cancer. Suppressing the enzyme monoamine oxidase A, or MAOA, in lab mice drastically reduced the growth of prostate tumors. MAOA deactivates and breaks down neurotransmitters in the central nervous system  to limit their numbers. Too much MAOA can cause depression, which is the purpose of MAOA-supressing drugs, and too little can lead to autism, aggression, and general anxiety, but this paper was the first one to suggest that it is linked to prostate tumors flourishing. Now, doctors can suppress the enzyme and supplement the treatments that are currently used to cure prostate cancer.

Relevance:
This article relates to the enzyme section of our matter and energy unit. In class, we discussed the function of the basic enzyme sucrase, which breaks down sucrose into readily accesible glucose and fructose, and in our most recent lab, we learned how the enzyme catalase neutralizes the threat of hydrogen peroxide in the human body. Too little of either enzyme would be bad for us. This article explains a similar issue, describing what monoamine oxidase A can do both to benefit, and harm the body in varying quantities. It mentions the drugs used to suppress the enzyme, an effect not unlike when we put the catalase in situations where it would denature, and this remarkable new benefit from suppressing it: inhibiting the proliferation of cancerous tumors, which matters to anyone who is suffering from prostate cancer and their families.