Activity of cytoglobin
Autumn 2009
£58,752 for a 1 year UEA School of Biological Sciences research project into the tumour suppressor cytoglobin.
Uncontrolled growth of tumour cells combined with incomplete development of surrounding blood vessels means that parts of a solid tumour have a very poor supply of oxygen and nutrients. These cells are very resistant to radiation and chemo-therapies.
The cell adapts to the conditions by producing a range of chemicals, including a protein called cytoglobin. Cytoglobin was originally thought to help with storing oxygen and delivering it to the cell, but it has recently been discovered that it also functions as a tumour suppressor whose production is “switched off” in a number of cancerous conditions.
The project will investigate the interaction between cytoglobin and tumour cells to determine how the protein functions and whether it is a target for future anti-cancer therapies.