Protein Linked to Spread of Colon Cancer Tracked by Researchers

A protein that may be linked to the spread of colon cancer to the liver has been isolated and tracked by researchers at Georgetown University.

The cells from colon tumors produce a protein called Pa28 alpha. When that protein is injected into mice, Pa28 alpha sought out the liver, said Justinian Ngaiza, clinical fellow in hematology/oncology at Georgetown's Lombardi Cancer Center and lead investigator.

The study was presented to the 92nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Researchers took the genes expressed by colon cancer cells and converted them into proteins, thousands of which were injected into mice. Two of the proteins, one of them Pa28, targeted the liver.

Researchers are unclear whether the protein is released by colon tumors and then spreads to the liver or if the cancer cells express it once they get to the liver.

If the protein does spread to the liver by way of the bloodstream, researchers are hopeful that a blood test could be developed to gauge PA28 levels in patients who have colon cancer that would tell them if a tumor has spread.

Researchers are now testing to see whether the PA 28 proteins are expressed in human tumor biopsies. They will also be injecting mice with tumor cells where Pa18 has been removed to see if the cancer cells still spread to the liver.

Other sources: Reuters