Queen’s University Belfast researchers make cancer breakthrough by studying ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ molecules

Their study is published today in the journal Nature Cell Biology, and looks at the the “molecular mechanisms” behind the movement of cells and how it is connected to the spread of cancer.

The university said “it is expected this discovery will have a huge impact on the fundamental understanding of cancer metastasis and brain development”, with the authors of the study believing it “could lead to earlier diagnosis and better treatments”.

The university explained the breakthrough as follows: “During brain development, neural stem cells give birth to neurons [key cells in your brain], which then migrate to specific locations within the brain where they form connections and mature in function.

“A defect in this process is known to cause several neurodevelopmental disorders...

“Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is a particular molecular pathway that enables cell migration, and is vital for early development processes including brain development, as well as for wound-healing later in life – but is also used by cancer cells for metastasis.

“The research team identified a particular protein, ZNF827, which they identified as a critical regulator of EMT.”

Their research, in short, showed the path this protein takes when it comes to new neurons taking their place in the brain – something which is “also exploited by tumour cells to gain migration potential”.

Lead author Dr Vijay Tiwari, from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University, said: “Our study not only sheds light on the development of one of the most important organs in our body – the brain – but it also shows how the same protein that is key for brain development can also be the cause or target for the spread of cancer in the body, a real Jekyll and Hyde protein.”

The international team includes researchers from Queen’s University Belfast, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Altos Labs, University of Montpellier, Karolinska Institutet, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and Translational Oncology at the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz gGmbH.

This study was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Wilhelm Sander Stiftung and Innovation to Commercialisation of University Research programme.

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