Halting the development of certain pancreatic, ovarian, colon and lung cancers may be possible with therapy based on recent Purdue University research. By investigating a single molecule that influences cell growth, a research group in the Purdue Cancer Center, including Brian S. Henriksen, has gained new insight into the chain of events that make some cancer cells divide uncontrollably – insight that may eventually lead to a way to break that chain, stopping cancer in its tracks. The molecule, known as Icmt, has a critical role in the development of Ras, an ordinarily beneficial protein that tells a cell to divide. The research group has determined how to inhibit Icmt’s influence on Ras, without which the protein cannot develop effectively into an instigator of cell growth.
