Reporter: MODELINE NICHOLAS LONGJOHN
USING CRISPR TO TURN OFF THE IMMORTALITY SWITCH OF BRAIN CANCER
Normally dividing or growing cells have a growth limit, called the hayflicks limit which is one of the scientific reasons behind senescence (aging) and mortality.However, cancer cells (which are essentially abnormally dividing cells) are able to turn on an immortality switch which enables them divide indefinitely (become immortal). Hence, one possible approach to limit the spread of many cancers is by targeting this “immortality switch”, using appropriate biochemical tools.
For instance, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have discovered a fragment of a common protein called GA-binding protein (GABP)which acts as the “on-switch” for the immortality of brain cancer cells. The group of researchers headed by neuro-oncologist Prof. Joseph Costello,successfully used a genetic tool called CRISPR to remove this segment of the GABP protein in lab culture dishes and in brain cancer cells injected into mice. CRISPR stands for Clustered regularly interspersed palindromic repeats, a type of bacterial/Achaea adaptive immune system which fights viral infection by recognizing these short repeat sequences. The removal of this segment of GABP protein called β1L stopped the rapid and uncontrolled cell division of brain cancer cells, returning the cells to normal cell mortality pattern. Prof.Joseph Costello together with one of the co-authors on the research paper for this discovery hope to partner with pharmaceutical company Glaxo Smith Kline(GSK) to develop a drug which will specifically target the β1L segment of GABP protein.
More information on this promising research is available in their research paper with details below. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2018.08.003.
Mancini, A., Xavier-Magalhães, A., Woods, W.,Nguyen, K., Amen, A., Hayes, J., Fellmann, C., Gapinske, M., McKinney, A.,Hong, C., Jones, L., Walsh, K., Bell, R., Doudna, J., Costa, B., Song, J.,Perez-Pinera, P. and Costello, J. (2018). Disruption of the β1L Isoform of GABP Reverses Glioblastoma Replicative Immortality in a TERT PromoterMutation-Dependent Manner.