Cancer protein affects the heart in mice

A study in Germany using mice has revealed that a protein linked to cancer also affects the heart. 

Cancer cells grow uncontrollably because they can avoid cell death and change how they produce energy.  

Using melanoma cells and mice with tumours derived from these cells, researchers at Technische Universität Dresden found that a protein called MCL1, previously known for helping cancer cells survive, also promotes tumour growth in mice.  

Drugs that block MCL1 are promising for cancer treatment and are currently being tested in clinical trials. However, some patients experience severe heart damage.

This is why researchers tested the effects of blocking human MCL1 in mice genetically engineered to produce it. They found that blocking the protein increased heart damage, but leucine diet-supplementation reduced this effect. 

“The protein [MCL1] actively intervenes in key metabolic and growth signalling pathways, thereby linking two fundamental cancer mechanisms,” said Mohamed Elgendy, from Technische Universität Dresden and lead author of the study published in Nature Communications.