Recent research has discovered that a specific gene is able to inhibit the uncontrolled proliferation of the gene Myc; a characteristic of tumor growth. The gene Myc is an important part of growth of organisms through cell division, and it this gene which can mutate into an oncogene. When this occurs, the cell proliferates uncontrollably and potentially can result in the growth of tumors.
Up until now there were no medicines that were designed to target Myc, due to the gene having no enzymatic activity of its own and thus none to inhibit or alter. However, in new experiments, conducted by a team of scientists led by Klaus Bister and Markus Hartl of the Institute of Biochemistry and the Centre for Molecular Biosciences of the University of Innsbruck, it was found that the gene BASP1 specifically suppresses this excessive proliferation of Myc-induced cells. This essentially means that the gene BASP1 functions as a tumor suppressor, as it inhibits the Myc-induced cell transformation.
These findings are a step in the right direction to finding alternate ways of suppressing the gene Myc and the advancement prompt for further research into the development of new drugs which could use this tumor suppressor to control the development of tumors.
References:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090318090144.htm
