In a new study, researchers have discovered an important new role for SRR in cancer metabolism, exposing the metabolic pathway as a viable target for novel anti-cancer therapies.
The research was led by a team from Osaka University.
Serine racemase (SRR) is a multifunctional enzyme that carries out several different reactions in human cells.
Researchers have long known that cancer cells display an altered metabolism that favors their growth, survival, and metastasis.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide but is particularly prevalent in developed countries where it is associated with certain dietary factors and a sedentary lifestyle.
One of the hallmarks of colorectal cancer cells is an altered metabolism that is not associated with tumor-causing mutations.
In the study, the researchers set out to examine what role, if any, SRR plays in the development of colorectal cancer.
They showed that SRR is much more abundant in colorectal cancer cells than in the surrounding tissues and that cancer cell lines with higher levels of SRR divide at a much faster rate.
The finding showed that SRR is involved in colorectal cancer cell proliferation.
Given the obvious importance of SRR, the researchers then decided to test whether disruption of the metabolic pathway could prevent the progression of colorectal cancer.
Astonishingly, not only did inhibition of SRR halt the growth of colorectal tumors in mice, but it also improved the efficacy of currently available drugs used to treat colorectal cancer, causing a significant reduction in tumor size.
The team says there is still work to be done to confirm that these results translate into human cancer systems.
They expect that future strategies targeting SRR will provide effective new therapies for the treatment of colorectal cancer.
The lead author of the study is Dr. Kenji Ohshima.
The study is published in Nature Metabolism.
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