Scientists working to better understand and find a cure for brain tumours have made progress in identifying initial events in cells that can lead to tumour growth.
The research team - based at the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Plymouth - uncovered 'readying' processes which occur just prior to brain tumour onset but which could be vital for tumour growth.
Using Drosophila fruit flies as a model, they were able to pinpoint changes that can be involved in turning a healthy cell into a tumour cell inside the brain. They then translated some of the findings using glioma cells.
The data uncovered enabled the research team to identify in greater detail a mechanism whereby the protein HEATR1 - the overexpression of which is linked to poor prognosis in glioma - works with the growth regulator MYC and is required to increase the production of ribosomes that are essential machinery within cells for brain tumour growth.
In a study published in the EMBO Reports journal, the team - led by Dr Claudia Barros - say more work is needed to understand the precise implications of these very early changes.
However, they add that slowing or preventing tumour growth is vital in improving quality of life and survival rates for patients.
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