Title |
A Minimal Fragment of MUC1 Mediates Growth of Cancer Cells
|
---|---|
Published in |
PLOS ONE, April 2008
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0002054 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Sanjeev Mahanta, Shawn P. Fessler, Jaehong Park, Cynthia Bamdad |
Abstract |
The MUC1 protein is aberrantly expressed on many solid tumor cancers. In contrast to its apical clustering on healthy epithelial cells, it is uniformly distributed over cancer cells. However, a mechanistic link between aberrant expression and cancer has remained elusive. Herein, we report that a membrane-bound MUC1 cleavage product, that we call MUC1*, is the predominant form of the protein on cultured cancer cells and on cancerous tissues. Further, we demonstrate that transfection of a minimal fragment of MUC1, MUC1*(1110), containing a mere forty-five (45) amino acids of the extracellular domain, is sufficient to confer the oncogenic activities that were previously attributed to the full-length protein. By comparison of molecular weight and function, it appears that MUC1* and MUC1*(1110) are approximately equivalent. Evidence is presented that strongly supports a mechanism whereby dimerization of the extracellular domain of MUC1* activates the MAP kinase signaling cascade and stimulates cell growth. These findings suggest methods to manipulate this growth mechanism for therapeutic interventions in cancer treatments. |
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Ukraine | 1 | 1% |
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Unknown | 69 | 90% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Researcher | 36 | 47% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 10 | 13% |
Student > Master | 6 | 8% |
Other | 4 | 5% |
Student > Postgraduate | 3 | 4% |
Other | 10 | 13% |
Unknown | 8 | 10% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 33 | 43% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 14 | 18% |
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Immunology and Microbiology | 2 | 3% |
Other | 4 | 5% |
Unknown | 11 | 14% |