Source: Anna 1xbet online games login , 785-532-3082, zolkiea@k-state.edu.
Pronouncer. 1xbet online games login is zoh-quool-ska
News release prepared by: Greg Tammen, 785-532-2535, gtammen@k-state.edu

Monday, Aug. 9, 2010

K-STATE RESEARCH TEAM INVESTIGATES MUTATED GENE'S ROLE IN BREAST CANCER

MANHATTAN -- A microscopic gene may play a gigantic role when it comes to cancerous tissue in the human body, according to one Kansas State University research team.

The team is investigating mutation within the ADAM12 gene of the A Disintegrin and Metalloprotease family, or ADAM family, and its role in breast cancer.

&1xbet online games login ;We want to know whether ADAM12 is a good guy or a bad guy in breast cancer,&1xbet online games login ; said Anna Zolkiewska, associate professor of biochemistry and research team leader.

If researchers can answer this question about ADAM12, 1xbet online games login said it could lead to more effective therapies and treatments due to a better understanding of cancer's components. This, however, hinges on discovering the exact nature of ADAM12, about which little is known. Research has uncovered some interesting information -- and raised more questions, 1xbet online games login said.

&1xbet online games login ;Typically human cells have very little ADAM12 protein, but the abundance is suddenly very high in cancer tissue,&1xbet online games login ; she said. &1xbet online games login ;When we look even closer, we find a very high level of ADAM12 expression in what we call cancer stem cells. Those cells are the most vicious as they drive the tumor growth.&1xbet online games login ;

Although chemotherapy and radiotherapy kill tumors, they are ineffective on the cancer stem cells, 1xbet online games login said. Without being surgically removed from the body, the stem cells will grow another tumor over the course of a few years. This again raises the question as to the role of ADAM12.

&1xbet online games login ;Is it helping that tumor re-grow or is it trying to prevent it?&1xbet online games login ; Zolkiewska asks.

Perhaps the most perplexing question the team hopes to solve is why the ADAM12 gene mutates inside cancer tissue.

&1xbet online games login ;Mutation means that one letter in the DNA within the cell has changed,&1xbet online games login ; Zolkiewska said. &1xbet online games login ;This is very striking because there are only a handful of human genes that are changed that way in tumors. ADAM12 is one of those genes and the only one among that family.&1xbet online games login ;

Zolkiewska said this raises the questions of whether the gene's mutation in cancer tissue is purely a coincidence or is part of a larger role. Prior research by the team indicates ADAM12 is a &1xbet online games login ;good guy&1xbet online games login ; since mutation to the gene effectively kills ADAM12 protein.

&1xbet online games login ;A tumor wants to grow, and from the point of view of the tumor, you want to invade and kill the patient. So you will first take care of those good guys, or those policemen inside the body who protect the patient,&1xbet online games login ; Zolkiewska said. &1xbet online games login ;If ADAM12 is one of those good guys, the growing tumor wants to take it out of the picture.&1xbet online games login ;

1xbet online games login discovery of mutation rendering ADAM12 dead was a scientific first by the K-State team.

Zolkiewska recently was awarded a three-year grant of 4,000 from the National Institutes of Health to further the research. The grant's title is &1xbet online games login ;Structure-Function Analysis of Breast Cancer-Associated Mutations in ADAM12.&1xbet online games login ;

Assisting 1xbet online games login in the research are Sara Duhachek Muggy, Manhattan, a graduate student in biochemistry, and Hui Li, who is conducting postdoctoral work. 1xbet online games login credited a large portion of the team's findings to Emilia Solomon, Los Alamos, N.M., a December 2009 biochemistry doctoral graduate.