A new understanding of protein pathways could help to diagnose some cancers and brain disorders early, an international study has shown.
Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast say molecular mechanisms of movement of cells, essential for the migration of newborn neurons during brain development, can also cause metastasis.
They hope this discovery, details of which are published in *Nature Cell Biology*, will have a significant impact on the fundamental understanding of cancer metastasis and brain development, ultimately leading to earlier diagnosis and better treatments.
The research team identified ZNF827 as a critical regulator of Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), which is a particular molecular pathway that enables cell migration. It is vital for early development processes, including brain development as well as for wound healing later in life, but is also used by cancer cells for metastasis.
They found how the molecular pathway of the protein is both employed for migration of newborn neurons to proper places during brain development and also exploited by tumour cells to gain migration potential and thereby cause metastasise to different organs.
Lead study author Dr Vijay Tiwari, of the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University, said: “Our study not only sheds light on the development of one of the most important organs in our body – the brain – but it also shows how the same protein that is key for brain development can also be the cause or target for the spread of cancer in the body, a real Jekyll and Hyde protein.
“The process for migrating newborn neurons to proper places during brain development is the same process exploited by tumour cells to gain migration potential, causing the movement of cancer throughout the body, or cancer metastasis.
“By identifying key regulators of these pathways, we open new opportunities for a therapeutic intervention against cancer and a better understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders involving defects in brain development.”
The international team also included researchers from Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Altos Labs, University of Montpellier, Karolinska Institutet, University Medical Centre of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and Translational Oncology at the University Medical Centre of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz gGmbH (TRON gGmbH).
Sahu SK, Agirre E, Inayatullah M et al. A complex epigenome-splicing crosstalk governs epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in metastasis and brain development. *Nature Cell Biology* 9 August 2022
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