Protein scaffold drives growth and spread of aggressive breast cancer
Researchers have identified that the protein AKAP2 plays a significant role in the growth and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer. Silencing this protein in laboratory models significantly reduced tumor growth and cell migration speeds.
Why it matters
This discovery provides a potential new therapeutic target for treating one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat forms of breast cancer.
Changes in A kinase anchoring proteins, or AKAPs, have been linked to several hallmarks of cancer, including the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. One member of this family, AKAP2, is known to promote cancer cell migration in prostate and ovarian cancers, but its role in breast cancer has remained unclear.
In a recent study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry , Kacey Rosenthal , a graduate of the pharmacology program at the University of Washington School of Medicine, John D. Scott , a professor of pharmacology at UW, and their team found that AKAP2 is required for the growth and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer, or TNBC.
The findings reveal a previously unknown role for AKAP2 in TNBC, one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer.
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