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STAT3
Protein found to play a key role in Cancer
Newswise — A protein called STAT3 has been
found to play a fundamental role in
converting normal cells to cancerous cells,
according to a new study led by David E.
Levy, Ph.D., professor of pathology and
microbiology at NYU Langone Medical Center.
The study, published in the June 26th issue
of the journal Science, found that STAT3, in
addition to its role in the cell nucleus
regulating gene expression, is also present
in mitochondria and regulates the activity
of the electron transport chain in tumors
cells.
Mitochondria are the basic energy-producing
organelles of the cell and are known to be
critical for tumor cell metabolism.
“These results open the possibility that
inhibiting the mitochondrial function of
STAT3 could be a promising cancer therapy in
the future,” adds Dr. Levy.
“By knowing this mitrochondrial function is
critical, it may be possible to design
therapeutic strategies that specifically
target this function while sparing the other
functions of the protein, such as its
ability to turn genes on.
"Therefore,
we would hope that inhibitors could be
developed that would be highly specific for
cancer cells.”
STAT3, which stands for “signal transducer
and activators of transcription,” is a
protein that was discovered as a regulator
of gene expression.
Its only function was thought to be to turn
genes on in the cell nucleus, particularly
when the cells have been exposed to events
that require an immune response.
It was found, however, to mediate many
critical steps in the response to infection.
Dr. Levy and colleagues have been studying
STAT3 since the mid 1990s, when they first
cloned its gene.
The current results by Dr. Levy and his
colleagues were obtained from experiments
that examined tumors caused by the Ras
oncogene, which is responsible for many
human cancers.
“Future experiments will need to determine
if a similar mitochondrial role for STAT3 is
critical for other types of cancer as well,
states Dr. Levy.
“We’ll also need a better understanding of
the biochemical basis for the function of
STAT3.
"For instance, we are trying to find out
what STAT3 does in mitochondria, what
enzymes and processes it regulates and how
these processes differ in tumors compared to
normal cells.”
The study by Dr. Levy and his colleagues was
funded by the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases at the National
Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
About NYU Langone
Medical Center
Located in New York City, NYU Langone
Medical Center is one of the nation's
premier centers of excellence in health
care, biomedical research, and medical
education. For over 168 years, NYU
physicians and researchers have made
countless contributions to the practice and
science of health care.
Today the Medical Center consists of NYU
School of Medicine, including the Smilow
Research Center, the Skirball Institute of
Biomolecular Medicine, and the Sackler
Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences;
the three hospitals of NYU Hospitals Center,
Tisch Hospital, a 705-bed acute-care general
hospital, Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation
Medicine, the first and largest facility of
its kind, and NYU Hospital for Joint
Diseases, a leader in musculoskeletal care;
and such major programs as the NYU Cancer
Institute, the NYU Child Study Center, and
the Hassenfeld Children's Center for Cancer
and Blood Disorders.
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