Regulation of BRCA1 and APC tumour suppressor functions by nuclear export

癌细胞是独特的，因为它们的分裂和生长能力不再受控制。此外，癌细胞的DNA不太稳定，重要的控制基因往往会获得小的突变，最终导致更具侵略性或恶性的癌细胞。来自不同组织的癌症以不同的方式进展和对治疗的反应，最终开发定制的治疗或疗法将需要详细了解来自不同组织的癌症是如何产生的。我们的实验室研究了两种蛋白质，BRCA1和APC，它们分别由最常与乳腺癌和结肠癌相关的基因编码。我们已经取得了重要的发现，将这些蛋白质在细胞内的运动和位置与它们的致癌活性联系起来。在这个项目中，我们将继续研究APC和BRCA 1如何以及为什么在癌细胞内的不同隔室之间移动，以及这种移动有时如何发出癌细胞死亡的信号。对这些过程的详细了解对于最终设计药物、肽或基因疗法至关重要，这些疗法旨在纠正乳腺癌或结肠癌细胞中APC或BRCA 1表达或定位的缺陷，并有望为特异性靶向和杀死癌细胞的神奇子弹提供线索。

Cancer cells are unique, in that their ability to divide and grow is no longer controlled. Moreover, the DNA of cancer cells is less stable, and vital control genes often gain small mutations which culminate in a more aggressive or malignant cancer cell. Cancers from different tissues progress and respond in different ways to treatment, and the eventual development of tailored treatments or therapies will require a detailed understanding of how cancers from different tissues arise. Our laboratory studies two proteins, BRCA1 and APC, which are encoded by the genes most often associated with breast and colon cancer, respectively. We have made important discoveries linking the movement and location of these proteins inside the cell with their cancer-causing activity. In this project, we will continue to study how and why APC and BRCA1 move between different compartments inside cancer cells, and how this movement can sometimes signal cancer cells to die. Detailed understanding of these processes is essential for the eventual design of drug, peptide or gene therapies aimed at correcting defects in the expression or localisation of APC or BRCA1 in breast or colon cancer cells, and hopefully provide clues for that magic bullet that specifically targets and kills cancer cells.