| PHILADELPHIA, April 16 (UPI) -- U.S. medical scientists say they've discovered a protein called Mcl-1 that plays a critical role in allowing melanoma cells to metastasize. SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS Researchers led by Thomas Jefferson University Associate Professor Andrew Aplin said the protein causes cell-resistance to a form of apoptosis -- a type of cell death called anoikis. That resistance, Aplin said, enables the melanoma cells to metastasize and survive at sites distant from the primary tumor. "When we depleted Mcl-1 from the tumor cells they were susceptible to cell death", said Aplin, who conducted the study at Albany Medical College in New York. "Our findings show that targeting Mcl-1, which is unregulated in a majority of melanoma cells, could be a viable treatment strategy." Aplin said there is one drug now in development that targets Mcl-1. That agent, called obatoclax, is in phase I/II trials. The research is reported in the journal Molecular Cancer Research. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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