Researchers from EMBL Heidelberg and the University of Virginia have made a fascinating discovery about how cells adapt to a lack of food, using brewer’s yeast as a study model. The discovery could have important implications for understanding and treating cancer.
The team noticed that when yeast cells are starved of nutrients, ribosomes—the cellular “factories” that make proteins—abnormally attach to mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouses.
“Ribosomes attach upside down to the mitochondrial membrane, which contradicts everything we knew about their behavior so far,” explains Simone Mattei, the study’s coordinator.
“We need to understand how these cells become dormant”
This adaptation allows cells to save energy by temporarily stopping protein production.
Olivier Gemin, lead author of the study, says: “Protein production requires a lot of energy, which can be saved by blocking the ribosomes.”
The researchers believe the discovery could have important implications for understanding and treating cancer. Cancer cells, which multiply rapidly, often face a lack of nutrients, but manage to survive.
“We need to understand how these cells become dormant to stay alive and avoid death,” says Ahmad Jomaa, co-author of the study. “This could help us find ways to make cancer cells more vulnerable to treatment.”
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
Source: www.descopera.ro
