A team of Argentine scientists, led by the principal investigator of CONICET Patricia Elizalde, discovered that blocking a protein may be key to inhibiting the growth of breast cancer, a disease that causes 5200 deaths in the country each year, the National Cancer Institute. The research was published in September in the prestigious U.S. journal Molecular and Cellular Biology as one of the "spotlights" or items of greater impact in 2010.
The researchers found that the effect of a hormone, a growth factor receptor that is active in the development of breast cancer, the ErbB2, moves from the cell membrane to the nucleus, where it is associated with other proteins involved DNA, causing division and proliferation of malignant tumor. This means that, as was verified in vitro, in cultured cells and in experimental models in mice by blocking the ability of ErbB2 to reach the cell nucleus can inhibit the growth of breast cancer.
Thus, the study proposes to re-evaluate what part of the cell is located the ErbB2 in breast cancer and as therapy, blocking the movement to the nucleus with a mutant ErbB2, made by genetic engineering. Thus, the mutant is not only the nucleus, but also prevents the endogenous ErbB2-present in the tumor cell, then the same route.
"The discovery is important because it provides a new alternative therapy for breast cancer patients with high levels of ErbB2 production. It will be, from now on to develop clinical therapy for this new scope, "explained Dr. Tiempo Argentino Elizalde, who has spent 20 years researching the subject.
According to the National Cancer Institute, created in September this year by the Ministry of Health of the Nation, breast cancer is a public health problem that causes 18,000 new cases each year.
It is also the leading cause of cancer death in women in the country. Argentina, then Uruguay, is the nation with the highest rate of mortality from this disease in the region, with approximately 22 cases per 100 000 women.
To achieve this new result, the researchers worked four years with funding from the CONICET, the National Agency for Promotion of Science and Technology and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The team consisted of ten researchers who work in the Laboratory of Molecular Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis at the Institute of Experimental Biology and Medicine (IBYME), and based on the doctoral thesis of Wendy Beguelin, one of its members. "It's a young team valuable. In our country there are fellows with dedication and determination. His work is fantastic. For help, today the country has a very active role in the progress of scientific research in the world, especially in terms of cancer, "proudly summarized the project director. competence
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