Cells of a neuroblastoma: The red dots mark sites where the BRCA1 protein occurs in close contact with the RNA polymerase II. This is only the case if the protein MYCN is also present (right). (Image: Christina Klotz / Uni Würzburg)
03/20/2019 - Two proteins work hand in hand to ensure that the tumour cells of neuroblastoma can grow at full speed. In "Nature", a Würzburg research team shows how the proteins can do this. Anyone who has ever studied the molecular basis of breast cancer will probably have heard of the abbreviation BRCA1 - this is a protein that protects the cells of breast tissue against cancer. Surprisingly, this protein can also have an opposite effect: In another type of cancer, neuroblastoma, it helps to keep the tumour stable. This is what research groups from Würzburg, Göttingen and the Netherlands report in "Nature". Neuroblastoma is a cancer that occurs in early childhood. Degenerate cells of the nervous system grow into tumours in the abdominal cavity; the disease can progress very differently.
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