The recently discovered protein KLHL14 has been identified to have characteristics that may function as a potential tumor suppressor in mesothelioma.
Investigators from the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, and the Center for Biotechnology at Temple University, including Dr. Angelo Canciello, Dr. Reyes Benot Dominguez, Dr. Antonio Giordano and Dr. Andrea Morrione, in collaboration with Dr. Barbara Barboni from the University of Teramo, Italy, publish their findings on the protein KLHL14 in the study entitled “Characterization of KLHL14 anti-oncogenic action in malignant mesothelioma,” in the international-peer-reviewed journal Heliyon.
In this study, the authors demonstrated that the protein KLHL14 both prevents epithelial-to mesenchymal-transition, which is a mechanism used by cancer cells to become more aggressive, and plays an anti-oncogenic role in mesothelioma. KLHL14 targeting by siRNA resulted in enhanced proliferation, motility, invasion and colony formation in mesothelioma cells, which indicates its role as an inhibitor of cancer progression.
“This research is an important step further to decipher KLHL14’s mechanism of action,” says Antonio Giordano, M.D., Ph.D., President and Founder of the Sbarro Health Research Organization (SHRO) at Temple University. “Our findings contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating mesothelioma initiation and progression,” he concludes.
“Our study provides the novel observation of a potential mechanism of KLHL14 regulation by a molecule called TGF-Beta,” adds senior author Andrea Morrione, Ph.D., Research Professor at Temple University and Deputy Director of the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine. “Additional research is needed to understand the KLHL/TGF axis,” explains Morrione, “and to potentially develop KLHL14-based drugs for Mesothelioma and other deadly cancers with few treatment options.”
