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IMAGE: Dr. Marassi is director and professor in the Cell and Molecular Biology of Cancer Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys. view more
Credit: Sanford Burnham Prebys
LA JOLLA, CALIF. - April 20, 2021 Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys have identified, at an atomic level, how a part of a protein called PLEKHA7 interacts with a cell s membrane to regulate important intercellular communications. The research, published in the journal
Structure, points to hotspots within PLEKHA7 as targets for drugs. These targets could be key in designing treatments for advanced colon, breast and ovarian cancers.
The region, or domain, in PLEKHA7 that the researchers examined, pleckstrin homology (PH), is commonly found in proteins that regulate the movement of cells as well as other important cellular activities. If the interaction between the PH domain and the lipids that comprise cell membranes is disrupted, diseases such as cancer can occur.