A new study by the University of Ferrara opens new perspectives to prevent the growth of tumors.
At the base of the multiplication of malignant cells there would be the PML protein. A group of researchers, led by Professor Paolo Pinton, University of Ferrara in collaboration with Professor Pandolfi PierPaolo of Harvard University in Boston found that changes in the protein that protects cancer cells and allow the duplication.
The research, which opens new frontiers in the fight against cancer, showed that the PML protein is located not only in the nucleus (as already known) but also at sites of contact between the endoplasmic reticulum, member of the construction of the cellular proteins and the mitochondria, organelles necessary for cell energy production.
The PML protein would thus have a crucial role in communication between the two organelles and its changes, as found by the researchers, lead to incorrect transmission between endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria, it prevented the selective elimination of cancer cells.
The study, published in Science, was funded by contributions from AIRC (Italian Association for Cancer Research) and also saw the participation of researchers coordinated by Professor Rosario Rizzuto, University of Padova and by Professor Carlo Cleats’ s University of Genoa and San Raffaele Hospital in Milan.
