Protein blocks escape route for cancer cells

A protein that blocks the escape route of potentially cancerous cells and stops them spreading to other parts of the body is providing novel insights into cancer biology that could lead to new targeted treatments for cancer.

A team of biologists, physicists and mathematicians led by Professor Alpha Yap from the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience made the discovery using microscopic imaging and statistical techniques.

The researchers revealed and analysed molecular processes that cause potentially cancer-causing cells to escape from epithelial tissues.

Professor Yap said the team had pinpointed the pathway these cells take to exit the epithelial tissue and found that the protein N-WASP can block their escape route.

“Abnormal or dying cells pose a risk to the health of the protective barrier that cells form around our organs,” he said. “The normal cells that surround these dangerous cells use the complex process of cellular extrusion to push them out of the tissue.

“However, when cancer cells are pushed out, it gives them the opportunity to grow or invade surrounding healthy tissue, which can cause the cancer to spread to other parts of the body and make it harder to control and treat.

“So while our normal cells think they’re doing us a favour by pushing out the bad cells, they’re actually helping the cancer cells to spread,” he said.

Professor Yap said his team had found a way to potentially block the escape routes by inhibiting the protein N-WASP, which regulates the internal skeleton of the cells.

“The pathway that makes or breaks these cells from escaping is regulated by N-WASP,” he said. “We have found that if we can inhibit N-WASP from functioning, then we can stop these potentially cancerous cells from spreading.”

The study was conducted by researchers from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience in collaboration with Dr Zoltan Neufeld from UQ’s School of Mathematics and Physics.

The research has been published in Nature Cell Biology.