Australian scientists have been able to “switch off” a molecule linked to a range of cancers.
Monash University researchers, in Melbourne, said the molecule was one of the top triggers of prostate cancer, and was also associated with lung and kidney cancers.
Joint study senior author John Scott said the understudied molecule, known as Protein Serine Kinase H1 (PSKH1), was known to be involved with tumour progression and metastasis, but, until now, how it did so had been unknown.
Dr Scott said researchers had now uncovered the way in which PSKH1 was activated and how it could be switched off.
He said in the case of PSKH1, which was a “signalling molecule”, the researchers found that when it bound to a certain protein it was “switched on” and when it bound to another specific protein it was deactivated.
“Tumours form because cells ignore normal signals that tell them it’s time to stop growing, or that it’s time to die.
“When a signalling molecule, such as PSKH1, interacts with certain proteins on a cell surface, this binding triggers a chain of events that can amplify the cell activity and lead to the formation of tumours,” Dr Scott said.
“Now that we know more about the proteins driving the ‘on’ and ‘off’ status of PSKH1, we can start to develop new drugs that target this molecule and, ultimately, improve therapies for prostate and other cancers.”
Read the full study: PSKH1 kinase activity is differentially modulated via allosteric binding of Ca2+ sensor proteins.
