Structure of a key cancer driving enzyme decoded!!!

[Levina]

PRC2 structure. Credit: Lianying Jiao, Xin Liu/Science


Scientists finally figure out the structure of a key cancer-driving enzyme
This is big.



PRC2, or polycomb repressive complex 2, might not sound like much, but it plays a central role in several processes that are key to human ageing, including differentiation, maintaining cell identity and proliferation, and stem-cell plasticity.

It does this by modifying a specific protein inside chromatin - a complex of DNA and proteins that produces chromosomes inside cell nuclei - which helps it to maintain gene-expression patterns that are put in place during early development.

But when the proper functioning of PRC2 is disrupted due to mutations in the PRC2 gene, it can have very serious consequences for a person’s health. "Producing either too much or too little PRC2 enzyme can unexpectedly silence or activate genes, which is not good for the cell," says Liu. "This study revealed how a ‘normal’ level of PRC2 enzyme activity is kept and regulated in cells."

This is exciting, because while scientists understand how PRC2 functions in general, it’s interacting with hundreds, possibly thousands, of proteins in the human body at the same time, so figuring out which ones are malfunctioning and therefore triggering the development of cancer and disease has been practically impossible.

But now, for the first time, Liu and his colleagues have reproduced the 3D atomic structure of PRC2 crystals, using an imaging technique called x-ray crystallography. This means we can finally compare exactly how it behaves in normal and diseased cells, and how its interactions with chromatin and cellular proteins affect human cell growth.

The next step is to apply the findings to research that is already investigating how new drugs could inhibit PRC2 enzyme activity. According to Liu, researchers are looking at the potential of such drugs as a treatment for several types of lymphoma. "Indeed, several clinical trials are currently ongoing to target PRC2, and we believe our work will shed light on these and other studies in drug development by offering insights into how PRC2 works at the atomic level," he said.

The findings were published in the journal Science.



@jamahir @Psychic

****
Jamahir my exams are over and i am ready for the Mars thread.

 

[mpk1988]

Lots of breakthroughs recently and many expected in the near future.

 

[jamahir]

PRC2, or polycomb repressive complex 2, might not sound like much, but it plays a central role in several processes that are key to human ageing, including differentiation, maintaining cell identity and proliferation, and stem-cell plasticity.

that has put a question in me just now... can aging be thought of as a cancer??

and will create the "mars one" thread tomorrow.

 

[Levina]

that has put a question in me just now... can aging be thought of as a cancer??

No.
Ageing means our cells don't get replaced often. But cancer means a condition in which the cells undergo uncontrolled division. JMHO!