What's good news in one setting might spell disaster in another. In cancer for instance, when a certain cell is commanded to grow and divide without restraint, it's a welcome message for the cell itself but a tragedy for the person who harbors this cell in his or her body. Weizmann Institute scientists have managed to decipher and block one type of molecular message that prompts unbridled cellular growth.
The molecular message first arrives at the cell's membrane, but its ultimate destination is the cell's nucleus, which contains the DNA. It's a huge distance for the message to cross, equivalent to 50 kilometers for a human being. To reach the nucleus quickly, the message is relayed by a chain of chemical messengers, from one molecule to another. More than two decades ago, Prof. Rony Seger of the Weizmann Institute's Biological Regulation Department took part in the discovery of one such chain -- one that participates in the induction of numerous types of cancer. Among other molecules, this chain includes the enzymes MEK1, MEK2, ERK1 and ERK2.
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