Academia Sinica yesterday unveiled the results of its research into the effects a protein complex has on the development of colorectal cancer, providing a possible solution to the treatment of the disease, which is the most common cancer in the nation.
Meng Tzu-ching (孟子青), a research fellow at the institute, said colorectal cancer is triggered by the mutation of the Kristen ras (K-Ras) gene, which regulates cell division.
He said that research in the past had determined that the dephosphorylation of protein kinase 12 is directly related to the spreading of colorectal cancer cells, but scientists were not able to validate a widely-held hypothesis that links the process to the effects of tyrosine phosphatase N3 (PTPN3).
Drawing upon concepts in structural biology, the team — led by research fellow Andrew Wang (王惠鈞) and comprising Chen Kai-en (陳凱恩) and Meng — devised a hybrid methodology, whereby they successfully created the PTPN3-protein kinase 12 complex.
By observing the interactions between the two proteins found inside the human body, they discovered that early-stage colorectal cancer degenerates and goes out of control when PTPN3 aggravated by the mutation of K-Ras comes into an abnormally high level of contact with protein kinase 12, through which process the PTTN3 “bites into” the protein kinase 12, the researchers said.
Furthermore, with the help of the hybrid methodology — which determines the protein complex’s outline through small-angle X-ray scattering, its structure through X-ray crystallography, and the connecting points between the proteins through chemical cross-linking/mass spectrometry — the team was able to create the protein complex, by which they confirmed the hypothesis that the dephosphorylation of protein kinase 12 was caused by PTTN3.
Wang said the ability to identify the points of linkage between the two proteins is especially helpful to developing new therapies and drugs to combat the cancer, which could help develop new methods to cut off the pathway by which PTTN3 comes into contact with protein kinase 12, instead of targeting the mutated gene, as most drugs do, which causes many side effects and inflicts more pain on the patient because it affects the normal functions of the gene.
The findings could be a major step forward for cancer therapeutic drugs, he added.
The trio’s work was the cover story of the Oct. 14 version of the Science Signaling journal.
Statistics published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in April put colorectal cancer on the top of a list of 10 most common cancers in the nation, with a person contracting the disease every 50 minutes.
The cancer has topped the list for six consecutive years, statistics showed.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
New Taipei City prosecutors have indicted a cram school teacher in Sinjhuang District (新莊) for allegedly soliciting sexual acts from female students under the age of 18 three times in exchange for cash payments. The man, surnamed Su (蘇), committed two offenses in 2023 and one last year, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. The office in recent days indicted Su for contraventions of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例), which prohibits "engaging in sexual intercourse or lewd acts with a minor over the age of 16, but under the age of 18 in exchange for
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty