‘Jekyll and Hyde’ protein understanding could help fight cancer

New research into the behaviour of the ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ protein, which can be a key factor in either the suppression or growth of cancer cells, has managed to explain how the protein’s changing behaviour can affect the outcomes for cancer patients. Researchers in the UK, working in collaboration with scientists in the US and Singapore, have been able to explain the ‘mood changes’ of the E2F protein and how it can affect cancer growth.
 
It is hoped that by further understanding the dual nature of the E2F protein, more effective cancer drugs could be developed. The scientists used a drug-discovery screen to show that drug treatments that stop the protein from helping the cancer cells, effectively becoming ‘Mr Hyde’, actually cause the death of the cancer cells.
 
This finding suggests that by controlling the behaviour of the protein, cancer treatments could be more effective. According to Professor Nick La Thangue from the Department of Oncology at Oxford University, no other protein in the human body behaves in such a way as the E2F protein cell.
 
"Subtle changes in terms of the chemistry of the protein have dramatic and polar opposite effects on the tumour cell, either allowing them to continuously grow or switching them to cell death mode,” he said. 'We are excited by this new discovery, which provides a new and very important approach to developing new types of cancer drugs. We have much work to do.”
 
The findings of the research were published in the medical journal ‘Molecular Cell’, which highlights the strong link between the E2F protein and cancer. It is common in most, but not all, types of cancer for the processes controlled by the protein to go wrong. This can either result the E2F helping the cancer to develop further, or to become more protective and remove any cells damaged by its changes. By stopping the build-up of damaged DNA, the protein helps to stop the cancer developing.
 
Researchers have now shown that the E2F determines cell fate and so by stopping it switching to becoming destructive, it can help to rid the body of damaged and cancerous cells.