If certain signaling cascades are misregulated, diseases like cancer, obesity and diabetes may occur. A mechanism recently discovered by scientists at the Leibniz- Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) in Berlin and at the University of Geneva has a crucial influence on such signaling cascades and may be an important key for the future development of therapies against these diseases. The results of the study have just been published in the prestigious scientific journal 'Molecular Cell'.
Cell growth and cell differentiation as well as the release and efficacy of hormones such as insulin depend on the presence of lipids. Lipids are small molecules resembling fat. They are the building blocks of cell membranes, and they also serve as molecular switches in signaling cascades.
Such cascades play a crucial role in the control of cell growth and division as well as in differentiation processes such as the formation of new blood vessels referred to as angiogenesis. If signaling cascades are disturbed, diseases such as cancer or metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes can occur. The ability to influence the enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of signaling lipids in cells could thus serve as a starting point for the treatment of these diseases.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 14 2018, @09:00AM
How many years until we discover that $popular_industrial_component_X has been affecting this mechanism for decades?