New Potential Pathway for Breast Cancer Treatment Discovered by Markey Research

In Lexington, Kentucky, scientists at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center have shed light on an important pathway through which breast cancer cells evade immune detection. This recent finding, published in the prestigious journal PNAS, was spearheaded by associate professor in the UK College of Medicine department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, Yadi Wu, Ph.D.

A Molecular Pathway Driving Immune Evasion by Breast Cancer Cells

The study reports a cellular chain reaction occurring in breast cancer cells, involving a series of three different proteins: CDK9, RNF20, and LSD1. The research shows that this pathway helps breast cancer cells to avoid immune detection, contributing towards their survival and growth.

Further, by manipulating this pathway and disrupting the interactions between these proteins, the research team could make the cells more susceptible to immunotherapy treatment, showing the potential therapeutic implications of this finding.

The Role of the LSD1 Protein

LSD1, one protein implicated in this pathway, regulates gene expression, and its high levels detected in various cancers have been associated with poor patient outcomes. Interestingly, prior studies show that the inhibition of LSD1 can help boost the body’s capacity to fight against cancer.

In the recently published study, the researchers discovered that CDK9, another protein involved in gene expression regulation, plays a key role in stabilizing LSD1, leading to immune suppression, a phenomenon that allows breast cancer cells to escape immune surveillance.

Implications for Cancer Treatment

Following the identification of this complex interplay, the researchers were able to sensitize the breast cancer cells to an immunotherapy treatment known as anti-PD-1 by disrupting the tripartite interaction of CDK9-RNF20-LSD1.

Yadi Wu commented, “This discovery is a significant step forward in our understanding of how cancer cells evade the immune system. Our findings highlight the potential importance of targeting the CDK9-RNF20-LSD1 pathway in the development of new cancer therapies, specifically immunotherapies.“

Funding Support and Future Prospects

This groundbreaking research was funded by the National Cancer Institute (NIH Award R01CA230758) and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH Award P20GM121327) of the National Institutes of Health.

These findings contribute enormously towards the better understanding of immune evasion by breast cancer cells, thereby holding the potential to guide the development of more effective breast cancer treatments for patients in the future.

By disrupting intricate interplays within the cancer cells and making them more susceptible to immunotherapies, such studies pave the way towards a paradigm shift in our approach to treating cancer.

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