Yeast unravels cancer conundrum
Published: July 22, 2005
A simple ingredient used to bake bread has helped scientists unravel a complex problem in the fight against cancer.
Yeast, which is used by bakers to make dough rise, has been studied to see how chemotherapy could be improved.
Chemotherapy aims to kill cancer cells. By studying yeast cells, the researchers were able to see how they managed to survive the treatment.
The researchers now hope to see if human cells use a similar mechanism to block drugs that kill cancer.
The scientists are funded by Scottish-based charity the Association for International Cancer Research (AICR) and Cancer Research UK.
Dr Alain Verreault and his colleague Dr Hiroshi Masumoto, in collaboration with researchers in Texas, chose agents used in the treatment of cancer that kill cells by causing DNA damage.
Cell repair
Dr Verreault said that the team discovered that cells repaired damage to their DNA by modifying proteins that package the DNA.
He explained: “We showed that blocking this modification in baker’s yeast cells made them extremely sensitive to agents used in the treatment of cancer.”
Dr Mark Matfield, AICR’s scientific consultant, said: “Strategies to disable mechanisms represent novel avenues for cancer therapy and may also improve existing chemotherapy treatments.
“It’s interesting that an organism as simple as yeast is helping us understand a complex disease such as cancer.”
Professor John Toy, medical director of Cancer Research UK, said: “The simple organism yeast has helped researchers unlock many of science’s complicated mysteries including cell division, a process fundamental to life and cancer.
“This early research unravels the mechanism yeast uses to help block chemotherapy.”
The scientists now hope to see whether or not human cells have a similar mechanism and whether it can be exploited for the treatment of cancer.
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