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Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered a protein that is associated with metastatic breast, high levels of the protein-ZMYND8 are correlated with poor survival in breast cancer patients, said Dr. Weibo Luo, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Pharmacology, and with the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. Previous research has shown that breast cancer cells are more aggressive in an oxygen-deprived environment.
A protein family-hypoxia-inducible factor HIF controls responses to hypoxia, switching on pathways that lead to cancer cell growth and spread. ZMYND8 is a regulator that activates hundreds of HIF-dependent oncogenes in breast cancer cells. In a mouse model of breast cancer, depletion of ZMYND8 blocks the growth of new blood vessels in tumors and leads to breast cancer cell death.
Metastatic breast cancer is a cancer that has spread to other sites in the body, and the vast majority of breast cancer deaths occur in patients in whom the cancer has metastasized. The research shows the primary epigenetic mechanism of HIF-mediated breast cancer progression and reveals a possible molecular target for diagnosis and treatment of aggressive disease.
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