Dr. Charles Clevenger and colleagues at Northwestern University have discovered that cyclophilin B may contribute to progression in breast cancer. Their report was published in The American Journal of Pathology.

The protein cyclophilin B affects cell division, motility, and death, all of which are altered in cancerous cells. To explore the role of cyclophilin B-mediated gene regulation in breast cancer, Clevenger and colleagues inhibited cyclophilin B expression in breast cancer cells. They found that absence of cyclophilin B impacted 27 different protein networks and decreased cell proliferation, motility, and tumorigenesis. In addition, in human breast tissue, increases in cyclophilin B protein levels correlated with the presence of breast cancer metastases.

The studies by Fang et al "demonstrate that a decrease in cyclophilin B levels … can profoundly alter the expression of genes and cellular functions relevant to the pathogenesis and progression of breast cancer. In this regard, the development of additional pharmacologic agents that specifically target each of the cyclophilins may have significant utility in the treatment of this disease."

SOURCE:
The American Journal of Pathology, January 2009
American Society for Investigative Pathology (http://www.asip.org)