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Ancient Viral DNA Helps Embryos Grow—and Cancer Hijacks the Same Switch
Key Takeaways
- HERVH, a non-infectious human endogenous retrovirus, acts as a switch that turns on the calbindin gene.
- Calbindin removes calcium from cells and is normally found in brain and kidney tissue where calcium must be tightly controlled.
- Three years ago researchers found a specific form of calbindin in lung cancer cells helped them survive by preventing ageing.
- Judith Pape and Kathy Niakan's team tested the effect of removing calbindin or HERVH in human embryonic stem cells.
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DT Editorial Team··via medicalxpress.com