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Many cancer treatments work by exploiting weaknesses in tumor cells, overwhelming their ability to survive, repair damage or continue growing. Yet some cancer cells manage to survive treatment. A new study from Texas A&M University sheds light on one reason why: Some cancer cells have a survival toolkit.

The research team, led by Dr. Wenshe Liu, Regents Professor and Harry E. Bovay Jr. Chair in chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, has identified key components of a little-understood cellular pathway that appears to help cells cope with oxidative stress, a form of molecular damage triggered by normal metabolism—and many cancer treatments. The study, published in Nature Communications, suggests that blocking this protective system could make certain therapies more effective against cancer.

Researchers focused on a protein called URM1, which has remained something of a mystery despite being conserved across evolution, from simple organisms such as yeast to humans. Scientists already knew URM1 plays a role in helping cells respond to stress, but the molecular machinery that controls the pathway in human cells had not been identified.

"This pathway has been retained across species for hundreds of millions of years, which suggests it serves an important biological function," Liu said. "Our findings reveal how the pathway is activated in human cells and establish the molecular players that make it work."

To uncover how the system operates, the researchers developed a specialized molecular probe capable of capturing proteins involved in URM1 activity.

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