Stress-busting Protein Also Makes Breast Tumors More Aggressive

An enzyme that helps breast cancer cells regulate their oxidative stress levels can also make them more aggressive, according to this study.

AsianScientist (Nov. 9, 2016) – Scientists in Singapore have found that an enzyme that helps breast cancer cells regulate their stress levels can also make them more aggressive. Their work was published in Antioxidants & Redox Signaling.

Compared to normal cells, cancer cells experience higher oxidative stress, which is the imbalance between the production of free radicals and the body’s antioxidant defenses. Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), a major antioxidant protein, is especially essential for cancer cells to cope with their high oxidative stress.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) research team, led by Dr. Alan Prem Kumar from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, together with Professor Shazib Pervaiz and Associate Professor Marie-Veronique Clement from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, found from in vitro cell culture studies and analysis of breast carcinomas from The Cancer Genome Atlas database that too much of the MnSOD protein in cancer cells activates a pathway that converts a localized tumor into an aggressive one that spreads to neighboring organs.

“Our study shows that the amount of MnSOD levels in the tumor cell determines the predominant reactive oxygen species that will tell the tumor cells whether to stay put or to transform into an invasive form that is capable of moving to distal parts of the body,” explained Dr. Loo Ser Yue, the first author of the study.

The new findings build on the group’s previous discovery that MnSOD levels are significantly higher in triple negative breast cancer patients. Moving forward, the NUS team is looking to design small molecules that selectively target MnSOD.


The article can be found at: Loo et al. (2016) Manganese Superoxide Dismutase Expression Regulates the Switch Between an Epithelial and a Mesenchymal-Like Phenotype in Breast Carcinoma.

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Source: National University of Singapore; Photo: Shutterstock.
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