SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korean scientists said Sunday that they have discovered a receptor gene that can inhibit the growth of colon cancer in humans and lead to new treatment methods down the road.
The team led by Baek Sung-hee, a professor of biological sciences at Seoul National University, and Kim Keun-il, a biology professor at Sookmyung Women's University, found evidence that the retinoid-related orphan receptor alpha (ROR alpha) phosphorylation can affect tumor growth.
The discovery published in the latest issue of U.S.-based Molecullar Cell is significant because it has the potential to be developed into a treatment for colon cancer and provide doctors with a detection marker to diagnosis the disease quickly.
In the past, ROR alpha -- discovered some 30 years ago -- were known only to cause problems for the cerebellum or little brain leading to muscular atrophy and osteoporosis.
"An ROR alpha that undergoes the phosphorylation process causes disruption of beta-catenin proteins, which leads to a suppression of the growth of colon cancer," Baek said.
Phosphorylation occurs through the activation of the PKC enzymes in the "serine amino acids" found in ROR alpha.
This correlation, said Baek, helps explain why PKC enzymes are active when there is no malignant colon cancer tumor growth and becomes passive if a person is suffering from the disease. This is a special case since in other types of cancer, active PKC enzymes are a sign of cancer growth.
She said laboratory tests conducted on 30 colon cancer patients from a Seoul hospital showed that there was a 70 percent decrease in phosphorylation of ROR alpha in actual colon cancer growth.
"The percentage is very high and helps establish a strong link between ROR alphas and tumors," the professor said, adding that because there is a good chance for further development the team has applied for both domestic and international patent protection.
She claimed that besides colon cancer, the latest discovery could help advance research of other types of cancer and osteoporosis.
The Baek-Kim team received funding from the state-run National Research Foundation of Korea with about 500 million won (US$430,800) being used to conduct research over the last four years.
In the future, the team is expected to focus on further development of their findings that could lead to a treatment of the disease. (Yonhap)
Today In Asia : Last Update : 16:28:24 31 January 2010 (GMT+7:00)
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