Scientists from the Rutherford-Appleton laboratory in England discovered that the special structure of the EGFR protein, which stimulates the uncontrolled growth of tumor cells, makes lung cancer resistant to treatment. Research results published In the journal Nature Communications (Nat Com).
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a protein found on the surface of cells that receives molecular signals that promote the growth and division of cells. In some types of cancer, mutated EGFR stimulates the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells, leading to tumor formation. It is stated that there are cancer treatment methods based on blocking mutant EGFR. However, tumor cells in EGFR-positive cancers continue to mutate and become resistant to treatment.
In the research, scientists examined high-quality images of the drug-resistant EGFR protein obtained using advanced laser imaging techniques. The scientific study examined a variant of a mutation that triggers lung cancer. It turns out that the ability of EGFR to resist treatment is due to its structural features, that is, atomistic details.
After discovering the structural differences between normal and mutant EGFR molecules, the scientists broke down the atomistic details of the oncogenic variant and injected the altered protein into laboratory mice with lung cancer. An artificially created “mutation” when introduced into the body of rodents did not show the ability to accelerate the development of tumors. In contrast, injections of modified EGFR promoted disease regression.
Scientists noted that this approach could prevent EGFR-positive cancers from developing resistance to treatment. Researchers now plan to investigate whether the similar oncogenic nature of EGFR affects the development of other types of diseases.
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