NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Research led by David Worthylake, an assistant professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at LSU Health Sciences Center, may help lay the groundwork for a compound to prevent the spread of cancer.
The research will be published in the May 29 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
As they spread, cancer cells acquire the ability to detach from their neighboring cells and invade tissue at distant points in the body. Worthylake and his colleagues studied a protein in cells that is involved in regulating cell structure, cell-to-cell contact, and cell movement.
When too much of this protein is produced, it can weaken cell-to-cell contacts and promote cell migration and invasion.
Worthylake hopes the work can guide further studies that could prevent cancer cells from moving to and invading other parts of the body.
