Nowadays everything seems to be linked to cancer. It has
become a hot topic in the medical field as the race to find a cure continues. Research
handle by Dr. Drmity Bulavin and his team of scientists at A*STAR’s Institute
of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) have identified an enzyme, called Wip1
phosphatase, that has the potential to eliminate the progression of cancer.
During their studies, they had found that Wip1 phosphatase played a key factor
in causing point mutations to occur in human cancers. During DNA replication in
the body, these point mutations cause a base-pair in the DNA sequence to become
altered, which can lead to an inadequate response to the drug treatment of the
cancer.
Having discovered the mechanism for Wip1, scientists might
be able to use this finding to develop an anti-Wip1 drug that inhibits the
action of the enzyme. It would then, stop the growth of the cancer to restrict
the amount of mutations, which happens to be a major cause in the recurrence
of tumors that have become resistant to drugs. The Executive Director of IMCB,
Professor Hong Wan Jin, believes that as Dmitry’s team advances in their research, they will be able to propose new
and innovative ways in developing a potential drug to battle against one of the leading causes of death worldwide.
Original Article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131108102745.htm
