SUMO Wrestles SENP1 Over Response To Hypoxia, Providing Possible Cancer Targets, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Study

Researchers at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have found a protein that enables cellular survival during periods of low oxygen, or hypoxia, which also is key for development of many kinds of cancer. In the Nov. 2 issue of Cell, they report that this protein, known as SENP1 (Sentrin/SUMO-specific protease 1), might provide a basis for future targeted therapies. They have already started to develop an agent to stop SENP1 from working in cells, which could push a tumor to stop growing and to wither away.