Prof. Ben-Ze'ev has long been studying the exact role of a gene called beta-catenin in various types of cancer. It is known that beta-catenin activates other genes, and in previous studies, Prof. Ben-Ze'ev's group had identified several beta-catenin activated genes that are involved in the development of malignant melanoma and colon cancer. In the new research, performed in tissue culture, the scientists discovered that colon cancer cells contain unexpectedly large quantities of a protein called L1 that is most often found in growing nerve cells. This protein, localized on cell membranes, can serve both as a lock and a key in the binding between cells: as a lock, or receptor, it can bind with other L1 molecules on the surface of like cells, and as a key that fits many locks, it can bind with different types of receptors on the membranes of other cell types. Thanks to these abilities, L1 plays an important role in the process by which healthy nerve cells develop and find their way in the intercellular space. However, when L1 quantities in cancer cells are elevated, due to excessive beta-catenin activity, these cells become particularly invasive and deadly. Among other things, they get better at both moving around and penetrating the body's connective tissues. L1 also renders cancerous cells more resistant to stress and he
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Contact: Alex Smith
asmith@jgordonassociates.com
212-367-3892
American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science
2-Mar-2005