A new cellular pathway linked to cancer is identified by NYU researchers

In the life of a cell, the response to DNA damage determines whether the cell is fated to pause and repair itself, commit suicide, or grow uncontrollably, a route leading to cancer. In a new study, published in the July 25th issue of Cell, scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center have identified a way that cells respond to DNA damage through a process that targets proteins for disposal. The finding points to a new pathway for the development of cancer and suggests a new way of sensitizing cancer cells to treatment. "One of the major messages of this study is that we have a new pathway that responds to DNA damage," says Michele Pagano, M.D., the May Ellen and Gerald Jay Ritter Professor of Oncology and Professor of Pathology at NYU School of Medicine, who was recently appointed a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.... [read full story]