The lack of protein leads to colon cancer, according to a new Spanish study
Colon cancer is The most diagnosed in the general population of the Spanish populationAccording to data from The Spanish Association against Cancer. According to our evidence, Up to 80 % of cases associated with environmental factors or a different lifestyleLike unhealthy diets, stable lifestyle, obesity, tobacco consumption or alcohol.
Now, a new study led by Nabil Djouder, head of a group of growth factors, nutrients and cancer of the National Oncology Center (CNIO) A new molecular mechanism This can participate in the formation of colon and rectum tumors and push their progress towards more aggressive forms.
An anti -tumor protein disappears
With the development of these authors in an article published in the prestigious academic magazine Nature Communicationsand To reach these conclusions, they performed a series of research on animal models (mice). They noticed that a specific protein, It is called P53,, Began to decompose the initial stages of the formation of the tumor. This, as they say, will allow the appearance and development of cancer.
Specifically, there are already other works They have documented the anti -a function of the P53 proteinIt is known that it prevents the division of cells and contributes to destruction when it contains serious abnormal cases, which prevents the abnormal repetition of damaged cells that lead to tumors. Thus, inversely, the decrease in the existence of the P53 that these researchers noticed in a new way in the case of colon cancer can increase the chances of cells that grow outside the scope of control.
In addition, this study also found another interesting mechanism: The relationship between P53 and another protein called URI,, Which was already known for its expression (that is, by being) in other types of tumors. Specifically, the authors note that with increased levels of URI protein from P53.
A possible way to combat cancer
It is also the first time URI protein is associated with colon and rectal tumors. According to the main author Irene Hiraens-Omoya in a statement published city“URI levels begin to rise in the beginning, which leads to the formation of a benign tumor, which is an abnormal growth that still does not form cancer, but at that point where the P53 begins to deteriorate.”
In the experiences he had on the mice, they saw that Eliminate URI protein Or raising the levels of P53 in benign tumors, a type of wet lesion that appears in the colon tissue, did not turn into tumors and mice with colon and rectum cancer for a longer period.
“Our results”, Hiras continues, “contributes More detailed pressure on how colon and rectal cancer develops. If we focus on studying the colon and rectal mechanisms that cause the deterioration of P53, including the increase in URI, we can in the future interfere in the initial stages of cancer and prevent its progress into more aggressive forms of the disease. Therefore, the team is now focusing on developing URI protein inhibitors.
The relationship with genetics and lifestyle
In this sense, the researchers also determined that the degree of expression of URI protein It is organized by asjogen The MyC, which is already determined as involved in cell multiplication and in organizing other key cancer genes. Activating MyC URI, which leads to the entire process that these authors described.
In addition, they say that this new mechanism can highlight some recent studies that achieve the possible causes of An increase in colon cancer cases in adult youth And help in understanding the relationship between environmental factors and lifestyle.
“In the past, my team also showed that URI It is associated with some environmental factorsAs a bad diet, both in other types of cancer and intestine. This indicates that URI and the deterioration of P53 at the beginning of colon and rectum cancer can be associated with these factors, “explains Djouder.
On the other hand, this gradual decrease occurs in the P53 protein Independently for another process This was already known: the loss of the TP53 gene (which is exactly the gene that encodes the protein P53) in the late stages of colon and rectum cancer. That is, both processes can occur and affect the development of parallel cancer: in the initial stages, protein deterioration, and in the most aggressive or larger (and even metastasis losing gene.
All of these results were also checked using Human samples donated by biobanco to Ramón Y Cajal Hospital In cooperation with Christian Berna, patients with adenoids and colon cancer in advanced stadiums. They have also been completed with the data analyzed by biological information methods.
Reference
AECC (2025). Colon cancer. It was consulted online https://www.contraelconcer.es/es/toDo-sobre-cancer/tipos-cancer/cancer- COLON May 7, 2025.
Irene from Mount Monteoya, Mariana-Agodo, Christ from Berna, Sladana Zagorak, Garcia Maimins, Solib Park, dear. The deterioration of the P53 protein redefines the start mechanisms and moves transitional mutations in colon and rectal cancer. Nature Communications (2025). Dioo: https://doi.org/10.1038/S41467-025-59282-4
CNIO (2025). Nature Communications. Discover a molecular mechanism that begins with colon cancer. It was consulted online https://www.cnio.es/noticias
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