In a new study published in Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM), <http://dmm.biologists.org/>, scientists report a new genetic tool that can specifically alter gene expression in the endometrium. They use this approach to remove a signaling protein gene only in endometrial cells to determine its influence on endometrial cancer formation. They found that the genetic change induced a very rapidly progressing cancer in all mice that carried the mutation. The gene they deleted, called Lkb1, is mutated in many other types of human cancers, and it regulates pathways that are known to contribute to the formation of aggressive cancer cells.
Link:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-02/tcob-aps020110.php
Source:EurekAlert