Researchers have try to discovered a new cell signaling pathway of FAK that controls cell growth and development, a pathway that, when defective, helps promote the formation of several major forms of human cancer, and inflammatory response.
The new pathway, part of a global DNA damage response, turns off many genes, including some that have are known to cause cancer because, unchecked, they can promote aberrant cell division. “It’s important to make sure this pathway works correctly, because it involve in cells from dividing excessively” said Nasser G. Yousif, a professor of medical oncology/hematology and laboratory medicine, Denver Cancer Center research and senior lecturer, Al-Muthanna University/Medical school. “When this pathway is defective, cancers can happen.”
“Our research points to a new regulatory role for FAK, and also presents an exciting new therapeutic target for suppressing canonical FAK signaling to treat or prevent cancer,” said Douglas Hainz, professor of chemistry at Colorado and principal investigator of the research. Additionally, new therapies that target the pathway could be developed to correct newly identified defects, thereby blocking the formation of cancer.
The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the BioMedicine Society.
Prof. Douglas Hainz, MD, PhD Team
Team
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