Publications
Lung Cancer: Drugs May Block Metastasis-Driving Protein
Conquest - Summer 2011
Jonathan Kurie, M.D. (left), mentored
Yanan Yang, Ph.D., postdoctoral
fellow, in the discovery of the role
of the Jagged2 protein.
Photo: Wyatt McSpadden
Researchers have discovered a new, key component in the spread of lung cancer in the protein Jagged2 — which silences protective microRNA (miR-200) — as well as a likely way to block it with drugs now in clinical trial.
“We think metastasis is initiated by the tumor microenvironment,” says Jonathan Kurie, M.D., professor in MD Anderson’s Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology and senior author on the paper.
“Cells metastasize in response to external cues, one of which is Jagged2,” says Yanan Yang, Ph.D., Kurie’s postdoctoral fellow and the study’s first author.
Reported in the March 14, 2011, edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Conquest-Summer 2011
Features
Legacy of a President: John Mendelsohn:
- Through Whirlwind and Calm
- Visionary: A Belief in Possibility
- Researcher: A Golden Beacon
- Pioneer: New Approach to Cancer Treatment
- Leader: Growing Our Way to Success
- Ambassador: With Portfolio
- Educator: Key to the Future
- Architect: Structured, Global Relationships
- Fundraiser: On the Money
- Picture This: John Mendelsohn's Office
Nursing:
- Questioning Traditions, Standards, Basics
- Thigh-High Versus Knee-High
- The Undeniable Pressure of Evidence
- Together When They Need Each Other Most
Frontline
- DePinho Next MD Anderson President
- Roadblock Clears Path for Herceptin
- Drugs May Block Metastasis-Driving Protein
- Genes Predict Response to Tarceva
- Another Key to Bladder Cancer Risk
- Also in the News