Finding the cause of cancer
Solid tumours cause one third of all malignant cancer in children, of these brain tumours and sarcomas are the most significant causes of death.
In a new study, the cell biology lab group will use models of rare and often fatal tumours to trace the “steps” that lead to these tumours. By understanding this process, which is known as oncogenesis, researchers have the chance to target cancer treatments.
One of the steps to a cancer cell is apoptosis cell death, a natural process that removes non-functional and dangerous cells from the body, including precancerous cells. When cell death fails to occur, precancerous cells can accumulate.
“By understanding which genes regulate the process of cell death, we learn how cancerous tumours begin to grow,” said A/Professor Paul Ekert, group leader of the cell biology lab.
The growth factor Interleukin-3 (IL-3) influences the survival of white blood cells. When such cells lose the “survival signal”, they die. This process is regulated by genes from the Bcl-2 family, some of which permit these cells to survive, even when IL-3 is removed.
Recently the cell biology group discovered that cells lacking the Puma gene (from the Bcl-2 family) can survive periods of IL-3 deprivation, and then start growing again when IL-3 is restored. This discovery is helping researchers to better understand the role of Puma and other genes in cancer development.