Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered a
protein that does its best work with one foot in the grave.
The study, which appears in the current issue of the Journal
of Biological Chemistry, focuses on the nontraditional lifestyle of
Retinoblastoma tumor suppressor proteins, which could lead to new ways to treat
cancer.
“Retinoblastoma proteins are unique in that they use
controlled destruction to do their jobs in a timely but restrained fashion,”
said Liang Zhang, a lead author and MSU cell and molecular biology graduate
student. “This is an unusual way for proteins to act.”