Scientists capture new calcium molecules shuttle pictures related to aggressive cancers
new scientific images have captured a molecule of calcium shuttle that has been linked to aggressive cancers. The three-dimensional structure may help researchers develop new therapies and diagnostic tools for diseases that are caused by a malfunction in calcium absorption.
The laboratory Alexander Sobolevsky at Columbia University Medical Center studied a family of proteins called "transient receptor potential (TRP)" channels. These proteins line surfaces within the body, such as the intestine and forming pores that allow calcium through a dense barrier lipids and proteins called the membrane to reach the interior of the cell.
"scientists have discovered a variant of TRP channel, called TRPV6 is present in excessive amounts in the tumor cells of certain cancer patients, "says lead author Alexander Sobolevsky, PhD, is assistant professor in the Department of molecular biophysics and Biochemistry at Columbia University Medical Center. "And patients who have higher amounts of TRPV6 seem to have a more aggressive form of the disease."
To discover how these guide calcium channel in the cell, and how the disease can occur when this process becomes unregulated laboratory Sobolevsky used a technique called X-ray crystallography This process involved growing crystals of TRPV6 and exposing them to a X-ray beam scientists then used the diffraction pattern produced by X-rays to map a 3D model of the protein
structure - . Which represents a unique frozen canal - reveals that the pore TRPV6 surface is lined with negative charges. This configuration helps to attract calcium ions, which are positively charged. Calcium ions are then mixed to a location inside the pore, up to three molecules at a time, as they pass through the cell.
"In the future, we could use this model to design drugs that can target certain types of tumor cells by plugging TRP channels on their surfaces," says Sobolevsky.
usually, calcium ingested from our food is used by the body to regulate a variety of processes, including the heartbeat, muscle twitching, and signaling the brain. In addition to various forms of cancer, the modified calcium absorption and TRPV6 expression has also been associated with Crohn's disease and kidney stone disease in mouse models. Further research is needed to determine the extent of modification of the TRP channel activity leads to disease progression.
The TRPV6 structure was published in a recent issue of Nature .
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