Breaking the Cancer Code: PRMT5 Fuels Tumor Spread Under Hypoxia
The Research group of Prof. Sanjeev Shukla, Department of Biological Sciences in a breakthrough study, have uncovered how breast cancer cells become more invasive when oxygen is scarce, a condition known as hypoxia. The research identified PRMT5 as the key driver in this process, with help from another protein called CTCF, which activates PRMT5 under low-oxygen conditions. CTCF binds to the PRMT5 gene and boosts its activity when oxygen levels drop. PRMT5 then modifies how DNA is packaged, triggering a cascade of events that changes how a gene called TCF3 is processed. This leads to the production of a protein variant that helps cancer cells move and spread more easily. The study shows that this process fuels epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), a biological shift that makes cancer cells more mobile and aggressive. Importantly, when researchers blocked PRMT5 using a drug called GSK591, the cancer cells lost their invasive edge. This discovery sheds light on how tumors adapt to harsh environments and identifies PRMT5 as a promising target for future therapies. By disrupting this pathway, scientists hope to develop treatments that prevent breast cancer from spreading, potentially improving outcomes for patients with aggressive forms of the disease. For more details, kindly visit https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003444
