Researchers have discovered a new electrical mechanism that can control the molecular switches connected to growth of cancer cells. The findings could lead to new treatments for some of the most lethal types of cancer including pancreatic, colon and lung, which are characterized by uncontrolled cell growth. The molecular switches regulating human cell growth do a great job of replacing cells that die during the course of a lifetime. But when they misfire, life-threatening cancers can occur.
The research focused on a molecular switch called KRas. Mutated versions of KRas are found in a number of cancers and these mutations lock the KRas switch in the ON position. "When KRas is locked in the ON position, it drives cell division, which leads to the production of a cancer," said the study's senior author John Hancock from The University of Texas Health Science Centre at Houston in the US.…
