| RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS |


Cancer


Metastatic breast cancer (pictured). Oxy- gen deprivation is a key factor in switching the function of major cancer genes from tumor-promoting to tumor-suppressing in triple-negative breast cancer.


JEKYLL AND HYDE GENES IDENTIFIED


THE PARADOXICAL ROLES OF WELL-KNOWN CANCER GENES ARE MEDIATED BY OXYGEN LEVELS IN BREAST CANCER


Oxygen deprivation, or hypoxia, has been identified by A*STAR researchers as a key factor in switching the function of major cancer genes from tumor promoting to tumor suppressing in a breast cancer subtype, suggesting the need for differential therapies in cancer treatments. A number of key genes are associated with


promoting or suppressing tumor formation and/ or migration and invasion in several human cancers. Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) and enhancer of zeste 2 (EZH2) are two genes that appear to be significant in both promoting and suppressing tumor formation. A team led by Qiang Yu from the Genome Institute of Singapore at A*STAR were surprised to find that hypoxia was the key factor for promoting EZH2-mediated tumor invasion and, therefore, for poor clinical outcomes in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). These findings may have significant


consequences for developing future therapies. “Different cancers are driven by different mechanisms, and some signaling components, such as the EZH2/PRC2 complex, can be both tumor suppressing and tumor promoting,”


28 A*STAR RESEARCH ISSUE 6 | JANUARY – MARCH 2017


© STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/Science Photo Library/Getty


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56