Enzyme Defines Colon Cancer

A new enzyme has been identified by researchers that are absent in healthy colon tissue but abundant in colon cancer cells. The Journal of Biological Chemistry has published the report. It appears that the enzymes drive the conversion of normal colon tissue into cancer by attaching sugar molecules, or glycans, to specific proteins in the cell. Sugar-modified (glycosylated) proteins play a role in healthy and cancerous cells and is an emerging area of cancer biology that may lead to new therapies.

A team at the University of Copenhagen that was led by Hans Wandall studied a group of …read more