Study reveals possible interventions for cancer, obesity
By ANITuesday, January 11, 2011
WASHINGTON - A new research may have opened doors to significant implications in the treatment and intervention of cancer and obesity.
Dr. Jan-Ake Gustafsson at the University of Houston (UH) reported the most recent results pertaining to the function of a nuclear receptor called estrogen receptor beta, or Erbeta.
The group found that this regulatory molecule prevents epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, or EMT, in the prostate gland.
EMT is believed to have an essential role in prostate tumor development. ERbeta also has a growth-suppressive effect in colon cancer cells.
The findings suggest that this molecule is potentially an interesting pharmaceutical target in many diseases, including cancer.
Another research by Gustafsson and his team shows that two specific nuclear receptors - LXRalfa and LXRbeta - act in such a way as to indicate they have a crucial role in regulating energy homeostasis, which is important to maintain the stability of normal biological states during adjustments to environmental changes.
Gustafsson believes that these molecules should be considered as targets in pharmaceutical intervention against obesity.
The articles are titled “Estrogen Signaling via Estrogen Receptor Beta” and “Both liver-X receptor (LXR) isoforms control energy expenditure by regulating Brown Adipose Tissue activity,” respectively.
The review is published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. (ANI)
