Making melanoma cells immortal comes down to previously unknown gene mutation synergies
Source: Fierce Biotech, November 2022
For a cell to become cancerous, it must cross the threshold of immortality—that is, it must transform into an infinitely dividing machine. Many cells like those in the skin cancer melanoma are thought to be immortalized due to mutations in the gene TERT. But scientists have puzzled over why the same TERT mutations seen in patients aren’t enough to immortalize cells in a test tube.
Thanks to the right mix of science and serendipity, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found at least one missing link: mutations in another gene that encodes for a protein called TPP1. Coupled with TERT mutations, the TPP1 mutations dramatically extend the length of melanoma cells’ telomeres—the protective ends of chromosomes that keep them from degrading. The team reported their discovery on Nov. 10 in a paper published in Science.
“We just added another link in the chain as we try to understand the process of cancer,” Jonathan Alder, Ph.D., assistant professor in the institution’s Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, told Fierce Biotech Research. “There have been lots of great studies before ours that illuminated part of the pathway as you go from a normal cell to cancer, and this is just shining the flashlight a little bit farther and moving it along.”