HYDERABAD: In a finding that could help fight cancer, researchers from the University of Hyderabad (UoH) have identified that the gene Hematopoietic PBX-interacting protein (HPIP) plays a critical role in regulating the transition from growth phase (G2) to mitosis phase (M) in the process of cell division.
If the gene HPIP does not do its job properly, cell division could get severely impacted, which, in turn, could result in cancer, they found.
Earlier, the same team of researchers, led by Prof Bramanandam Manavathi of the biochemistry department, had reported for the first time that over-expression of HPIP causes growth of breast-cancer tumours.
The findings open up opportunities to develop anti-cancer drugs that target HPIP to ensure controlled cell division. They have already started studies to understand the structure of the HPIP gene, so that it can be effectively targeted using drugs.
The extremely sensitive process of cell division happens over different phases, with transitions from one phase to another regulated by certain proteins. The transition from the G2 phase to the M phase is regulated by the protein Cyclin B1. Once this protein gets degraded, the transition from G2 to M phase begins.
However, the degradation of Cyclin B1 should occur properly and at the right time. The researchers discovered that HPIP protects Cyclin B1 from getting degraded prematurely.
While the delicate processes of cell division are well regulated by the human body, they occasionally go wrong, leading to cancer.
With the UoH researchers finding out the important role played by HPIP, in the future, drugs can be developed to control cancer by tweaking the HPIP in cells wherever cell division has gone awry.