Faculty Member Johanna Joyce

Center researchers have learned how a particular type of enzyme in cells can be manipulated to combat pancreatic cancer in mice, providing new information that may be used to design better therapies for people.

In previous research, the investigators found that chemically inhibiting a family of enzymes known as cysteine cathepsins, which aid in the breakdown of proteins, halted the progression of pancreatic islet cell cancer -- a rare form of pancreatic cancer that originates in the islet or endocrine cells -- in mice.

In their new research, Sloan-Kettering Institute biologist Johanna Joyce and her team engineered pancreatic cancer-prone mice to also lack one of four cathepsin genes. Three of the four cathepsin-deficient transgenic mice exhibited reduced tumor growth and invasion. In addition, the researchers identified a molecular target, E-cadherin, that controls the invasive potential of each gene. The results of the study were published in the March 1 issue of Genes & Development. [PubMed Abstract and Full Text]

"Using mouse genetics, we have been able to identify distinct, stage-specific roles for members of the cysteine cathepsin family," explained Dr. Joyce. "The results of these studies may help guide the design of clinical trials aimed to assess cathepsin inhibitors as cancer therapies."

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