Modern therapies can target specific pathways in cancer cells, but the cells often become drug resistant. René Bernards of the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam and his colleagues have identified a gene involved in resistance, and have found a way to stop it in its tracks.
Resistance can be caused by mutations in genes or proteins that are not directly targeted by a drug. Bernards' team used a genetic technique called RNA interference to investigate the effects of shutting down thousands of human genes.
The researchers found that when the gene MED12 was switched off, the cells in a variety of cancers became resistant to a range of anti-cancer drugs. Suppressing this gene activates the transforming growth factor β receptor (TGF-βR) and, conversely, inhibiting the signalling through this receptor in drug-resistant cells eliminates the resistance.
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Switching off cancer resistance. Nature 491, 641 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/491641c
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/491641c