Fresh insights into how our cells multiply could help scientists develop drugs to treat cancer.
Researchers at Edinburgh University have gained a better understanding of the workings of two key proteins that control cell division – a process that must be carried out accurately to keep cells healthy, but which can lead to cancer when it goes out of control.
The Edinburgh study, published in the Public Library of Science Biology and supported by the Wellcome Trust, may contribute to the development of drugs that stop cancerous cells multiplying, and prevent the disease spreading.
Such treatments – known as anti-mitotic drugs – would have the potential to limit the side-effects of some chemotherapy drugs, such as damage to healthy nerve cells. The development may help optimise personalised chemotherapy treatments for individual cancer patients.
Scientists used high-resolution microscopy to view cells in 3D and determine the position of each of the proteins. Crucially, they were able to pinpoint how one key protein binds and triggers the activation of a further two key enzymes, each of which is involved with ensuring that cell division takes place correctly. This may aid the development drugs to stop the activity of both enzymes.
Dr Mar Carmena, of the university's School of Biological Sciences, said: "The greater our understanding of the proteins that control cell division, the better equipped scientists will be to design more effective treatments against cancer."
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