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- Researchers at the IIT, Kanpur discovered a particular gene (DLX1) that have an important role to play in the growth and development of prostate cancer.
- The DLX1 gene has an important role in the development of jaws, skeletons, and interneurons in the brain.
About the study
- Androgen receptor is responsible for promoting the development of prostate cancer.
- About 50% of prostate cancer harbour an aberrant gene which is a product of two genes (TMPRSS2 and ERG) being fused together and results in the production of higher levels of ERG protein.
- Exploring the association between these important factors revealed that about 96% of TMPRSS2-ERG fusion-positive prostate cancer patients show high levels of DLX1 protein as well.
- About 70% of the patients with high androgen receptor signalling also have elevated DLX1 protein levels.
- DLX1 protein has a huge role in the growth and development of the tumour and the spread of cancer to other organs in the body (metastasis).
- The researchers have further shown that both androgen receptor and fusion gene product, ERG, are responsible for increased levels of DLX1 in prostate cancer cells.
- They found that a particular protein (Bromodomain and extra terminal or BET) assists the function of both androgen receptors and ERG.
- They found that if the BET protein is inhibited using small molecules, the function of both the androgen receptor and the ERG protein to upregulate DLX1 gets inhibited.
- As a result, the expression of the DLX1 protein and its tumorigenic potential is reduced.
Prostate Cancer
Image Courtesy: Cancer.org
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Source: TH
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