Silar and Daboussi tracked down two Ph.D. theses, from 1965 and 1979, that describe changes in color and the growth pattern of hyphae that are transmitted without involvement of a nucleic acid. This human-mouse experimental model allows us to create cancer cells and study how they grow, which wasn't possible before. The researchers found preliminary evidence of the HPV in nearly all the abnormal cervical growths in the model. In addition, they found that high doses of estrogen appeared to result in noncancerous growths in the cervical tissue. As they continue their studies, they expect to learn more about how the virus behaves.
Viruses typically cause disease by interweaving their DNA with the DNA of host cells.
The recently elucidated structure of an enzyme known to have a critical role in tumor growth could prove to be a useful tool for the design of novel drugs that can stop cancer metastases. According to senior author Karl Tryggvason , a professor of medical chemistry at Karolinska and cofounder of Biostratum, crystallizing MMP-2 was a difficult task because of the protein's considerable size and multiple domains. Although researchers had previously crystallized parts of other MMPs, this was the first crystallization of an entire MMP structure. Although MMP inhibitor clinical trials are already in the works, the molecules tested generally act too broadly and have unwanted side effects. These recent findings should enable the characterization of new, more specific anticancer compounds.