Possible Tumor-Supressant Gene Identified

A team of Austrian scientists of the Institute of Biochemistry and the Center for Molecular Biosciences of the University of Innsbruck might have found a way to suppress a powerful oncogene, a recent study shows.

The oncogene in question is in fact a mutation of the gene Myc, which normally is an important factor for the growth of organisms by cell division, regulating the production of a protein that controls the expression of up to 15 % of all human genes. When the mutation of the Myc gene occurs, cell proliferation goes array and apoptosis (the process of programmed cell death) is inhibited, which could lead to the formation of tumors.

Since the Myc gene does not have enzymatic activity of its own, the inhibition of the oncogene can’t be done trough pharmacological substances. The research team, led by Klaus Bister and Markus Hartl, think that the answer to this problem may come in the form of another gene, BASP1, which, as their experiments revealed, specifically inhibits the uncontrolled proliferation of Myc.

“Until now the precise biochemical function of BASP1 is unknown. However, in our experiments we have found clear evidence that Myc-induced cell transformation can be specifically inhibited by BASP1, and consequently, the gene functions as a tumor suppressor.”, stated Prof. Bister in regard of these new findings that could lead to the development of new tumor-suppressant drugs.