Originally published December 18 2005
Research collaboration pays dividends in advancing understanding of protein growth
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the German Cancer Research Institute have collaborated on a study that reveals the role protein synthesis plays in nerve growth.
Scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine say they've discovered how protein synthesis is targeted to certain regions of a cell.
The discovery, made in collaboration with scientists at the German Cancer Research Institute, has reportedly shed light on a process crucial for the cellular motility that governs nerve growth, wound healing and cancer metastasis.
Led by Drs. Robert Singer and Stefan Huettelmaier, the research team focused on migrating fibroblast cells important in wound healing.
To move towards a wound, the cells manufacture the protein actin, which polymerizes into long filaments that push the cell's membrane outward to form protrusions.
The study reveals not only does a protein called ZBP1 bind to actin messenger RNA and guide it to the cell's periphery, but it also helps regulate where in the cell the messenger RNA is translated into actin.
"The ZBP1 bound to actin's messenger RNA acts like a lock to prevent it from being translated into protein before reaching its destination," explained Singer.
Singer said understanding how actin synthesis is spatially regulated in motile cells could lead to new cancer therapies.
The research appears in the Nov. 24 issue of the journal Nature.
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