Yan Leyfman: New Insights Into Cancer Cell Plasticity in Colorectal Cancer
Researchers have identified the protein ZFP36L2 as a key regulator of cancer cell plasticity in colorectal cancer. The study suggests that targeting this protein could potentially disrupt the ability of tumor cells to metastasize.
Why it matters
Understanding the mechanisms behind cancer cell adaptation and metastasis is crucial for developing more effective, targeted cancer therapies.
Yan Leyfman, Co-Founder & Executive Director of MedNews Week, Executive Committee Member at Music Beats Cancer, and Medical Correspondent at OncLive, shared on LinkedIn:
“ Cancer cells are remarkably adaptable, capable of changing their identity to survive, spread, and resist treatment.
In this study, the investigators identify ZFP36L2 as a key molecular switch that regulates this process in colorectal cancer.
Rather than simply controlling gene expression, ZFP36L2 helps coordinate how cancer cells respond to stress by regulating the degradation of stress-related mRNAs .
This enables tumor cells to transition back into a stem cell-like state ( LGR5 ⁺ intestinal stem cells), a critical step for tissue regeneration and metastatic outgrowth.
Interestingly, when ZFP36L2 is lost, metastatic seedin g is impaired, but tumors instead adopt alternative differentiation programs and g reater lineage plasticity- features associated with poorer clinical outcomes .
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