Oncogene plays a critical role in tumor formation Posted on January 15, 2005February 25, 2018 by Carly du Toit NEW YORK, January 20, 2005 – Scientists at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC) have identified a new cellular oncogene essential for the development of cancer. Oncogenes are genes that, when mutated or dysfunctional, lead normal cells to become cancerous. The investigators have named the gene POKEMON (for POK Erythroid Myeloid Ontogenic factor). The work has been published in the January 20, 2005, issue of Nature. “There are a number of genes that can cause cancer, the so-called oncogenes, but Pokemon is unique in that it is needed for other oncogenes to cause cancer.” said MSKCC cancer geneticist Pier Paolo Pandolfi, MD, PhD, the senior author of the study. “More important, because the Pokemon protein plays such a crucial role in the formation of cancer, it could prove to be an effective target for new drug therapies.” Pokemon works by controlling the pathways that are required to transform normal cells to cancerous ones. The researchers found that when they “knocked out” the Pokemon gene in mice, that transformation was blocked and cells do not become cancerous. (Knocking out a gene means inactivating it through genetic engineering.) A drug that could block the protein’s function in the same way could be a powerful anticancer agent. Continue reading “Oncogene plays a critical role in tumor formation”
