Phase separation has been implicated in cancer metastasis by a team of researchers from Princeton University. Their findings were published in Nature Cell Biology.
Their research builds upon the Wnt pathway, which is known to be vital to embryonic development in countless organisms. The team found that cancer can co-opt this pathway, corrupting its ability to grow tumors. The researchers were specifically investigating the interplay between Wnt, a signaling molecule called TGF-b, and the DACT1 gene.
They found that bone tumors initially induce Wnt signaling, to spread through the bone. Then, TGF-b, which is abundant in bones, suppresses the pathway. The tumors then stimulate the growth of osteoclasts, which scrub away old bone tissue. This further increases the TGF-b concentration, prompting even more DACT1 hoarding and subsequent Wnt suppression that has been shown to be important in further metastasis.
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By discovering the role of DACT1, Kang and his team have found new possible targets for cancer drugs. "For example, if we have a way to disrupt the DACT1 complex, perhaps the tumor will disseminate, but it will never be able to 'grow up' to be life-threatening metastasis. That's the hope," lead researcher Yibin Kang said.