New protein linked with breast cancer

According to Medical News Today, a protein has been found that is linked with breast cancer cells. Johns Hopkins University researchers have found that this protein is used by breast cancer cells to unlock the genes needed to spread the disease throughout the rest of the body. The  JMJD2C gene opens up certain genes that tumors need to grow and metastasize. Researchers where studying the HIF-1 protein, a protein that turns hundreds of genes on and off that are instrumental in development, red blood cell production, and metabolism in cells. They realized that this same protein could be taken over and made to turn on genes that are involved in the making of breast cancer cells.

Researchers then wanted to know how the HIF-1 protein worked so they began to test a large range of human proteins to see which ones would interact with this specific protein.they found 200 hundred proteins that bind with the HIF-1 protein. they searches through all of the binding proteins to see if their were any chemical changes in certain sections of DNA that were able to switch. they found that the protein that was connected with the HIF-1 protein was the JMJD2C gene. they found that the HIF-1 protein switches the JMJD2C gene on and causes tumors. Weibo Luo, Ph.D., an instructor in the Institute for Cell Engineering and Department of Biological Chemistry and leader of the project, stated, "Active HIF proteins have been found in many types of tumors, so the implications of this finding go beyond breast cancer. JMJD2C is both an important piece of the puzzle of how tumors metastasize, and a potential target for anti-cancer therapy." i believe that finding out how these proteins and genes work is very important. if they can find out how these genes turn on and off, they will able to find a way to turn off the genes that cause things like breast cancer. if they can do this for breast cancer, then they will be able to do it for any other type of cancer and many lives will be saved.