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Revolutionary discovery: New protein could fight cancer!
Research at the University of Cologne discovers the protein CxUb, which promotes proteostasis and cell stress resistance - new approaches against cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
Revolutionary discovery: New protein could fight cancer!
In a groundbreaking study, researchers from the University of Cologne and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf have identified a new protein called CxUb. Loud uni-koeln.de CxUb plays a crucial role in proteostasis and healthy aging. This discovery is particularly remarkable because CxUb is present in all eukaryotic organisms but has remained unnoticed until now.
The study, led by Dr. Mafalda Escobar-Henriques and Professor Dr. Andreas Reichert shows that CxUb increases the ubiquitin marking of defective proteins and accelerates their degradation. This could have important implications for the treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, as actively supporting the healthy regeneration of cells under stress through CxUb offers a promising perspective.
Mechanisms of ubiquitination
CxUb is not just a simple observer in monitoring protein-based damage. It interacts with the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), which plays a central role in regulating various cellular processes. Ubiquitination, a process that affects all eukaryotic organisms, is a reversible post-translational modification in which ubiquitin is attached to proteins. This affects their function, local distribution and interactions, which is crucial for the balance in the cells pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov confirmed.
Dysregulation of this system leads to serious health problems such as neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. The enzymes belonging to the UPS, including E3 ubiquitin ligases and deubiquitinases (DUBs), are promising targets for new therapies. Studies show that these enzymes play a key role in tumor development, which is reflected in the publications pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov reflects.
Therapeutic perspectives
Current insights into the role of CxUb could not only reduce the side effects of existing therapies, but also enable new approaches to cancer and neurodegeneration therapy. Researchers are already planning further studies to decipher the precise mechanisms of CxUb action and to understand how the potential of this discovery can be exploited therapeutically.
The support of this research from the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Plus 3 program of the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation enables the use of state-of-the-art techniques in the areas of proteomics, microscopy and biochemistry. These technologies are crucial to dissect the biological functions of CxUb and its contribution to cellular stress resistance, promising fundamental new insights into the mechanisms of aging and disease development.