The membrane-linked adaptor FRS2β fashions a cytokine-rich inflammatory microenvironment that promotes breast cancer carcinogenesis

The first step towards breast cancer identified

22 March 2022

The path to breast cancer in mice starts with a protein known as FRS2β, and this could offer an attractive way of intercepting the disease before it starts.

The most prevalent cancer globally, breast cancer develops from premalignant conditions. It is thus highly desirable to prevent breast cancer from developing by finding ways to treat these premalignant conditions. But the molecular mechanisms behind them are not well understood.

Now, a team led by researchers from Kanazawa University in Japan has discovered that the adaptor protein FRS2β triggers changes in the cellular microenvironment that give rise to premalignant conditions in mice. Specifically, they found that FRS2β creates a microenvironment that has a high concentration of cytokines — small proteins that kick the immune system into action.

Since FRS2β doesn’t appear to greatly affect physiological conditions, a strategy for preventing breast cancer may be able to target it without causing significant side effects.

Supported content

References

1. PNAS 118, e2103658118 (2021). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2103658118