This is the third in a series of posts sharing new information about cancers. Hope you find the series useful.
Holy smokes! We might have found a most useful clue as to how cancers spread.
It seems that GRP-78, (also known as HSPA5) a protein, when under stress, migrates to the cell nucleus. There it begins altering genetic activity, promoting the mobility of cancer cells and their ability to invade other cells.
(GRP means it si a glucose regulated protein. HSP means it si a heat shock protein. GRP normally resides on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The ER is vital for the synthesis, folding, modification, and transport of proteins within the cell; the ER is contiguous to the cell nucleus.)
Researchers at USC led by Dr. Amy Lee, funded by NIH, found that both COVID-19 and cancers hijack the activities of GRP78. This may be the vital pathway to deny cancer cells from effecting a hostile takeover.
Dr. Lee’s group consisted of Drs. Ze Liu, Guanlin Liu, Dat P Ha (Lee and these three are part of the Kerk School of Medicine at USC) as well as Justin Wang (Scripps Institute) , and Min Xiong.(Beckman Research at City of Hope).
What led to this finding was that Dr. Liu (post doc researcher) observed that GRP78 regulates EFGR genetic functionality, a protein with known links to cancer. It also bind to ID2, another protein involved in cancers. This finding was then subjected to additional testing, which is how they determined that GRP78 is a key controller of cancer growth and invasion.
Interestingly, GRP78 is also integral to how our bodies react to and fight off COVID-19.
Among other research Dr. Lee is performing involves YUM 70. This is a potent and selective inhibitor for GRP78 activity. That could mean that cancers may be controlled and stopped by adjusting the levels of these components in the cells.
