Researchers from IMIM (Hospital del Mar Institute of Medical Research), in Barcelona, ​​have determined the function of a new variant of the enzyme IKK alpha (IKKa) in the activation of some of the genes involved in tumor progression of colorectal cancer .

This fact, in the future, will design new drugs that inhibit this enzyme specifically and are less toxic for other cells in the body, thereby improving the treatment of this disease.

The study was the culmination of a research previously conducted by the Research Group on Stem Cells and Cancer IMIM, which had shown that there was a relationship between the activation of the enzyme IKKa and the occurrence of colorectal cancer in humans.

"We have studied what are the features which distinguish the pro-tumor activity of IKKa of their normal physiological activities, which are known to be essential for survival of cancer cells and that therefore can not be inhibited without causing pharmacologically great harm to the body, "said Luis Espinosa, a member of that working group and director.

The IKKa kinase is an enzyme acts on other proteins and adding a phosphate and thereby modifying its function.

"The P45-IKKa variant, which we have identified, is found in the nucleus of cancer cells and their action is essential for the tumor to grow's.

Largest novelty is that we have identified a new form of IKKa kinase that is involved mainly in the activation of genes involved in tumor progression, and that is different from the majority of this kinase activity in normal cells "added Espinosa.

We analyzed a total of 288 samples of human colorectal cancer, identifying the presence of P45-IKKa in most of them, and it has been demonstrated that specific blockade of this new form of IKKa prevents the growth of such cells cancer.

Help finding therapies

The results of this work open the door to numerous avenues of research aiming to discover the mechanism of generation and activation of this enzyme P45-IKKa, in order to identify more effective inhibitors against any tumor cells that are less toxic to the rest body cells.

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