http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110303132306.htm
This article talks about research found by Fernando Camargo, PhD and the study's senior researcher, and his colleagues that skin cancer and skin regeneration are close in function. The team experimented on a molucule called Yap1 to cause large tumor growth. When Yap1 was suppressed in mice, experimental guinea pigs,their epideral skin cells did not expand and the mice had very thin skin. They also found that more Yap1 aids to thicker skin, but activation of Yap1 led to "squmaous-cell carcinoma-like tumors". More research showed that Yap1 was inactivated by alpha-cantenin, which attachs to the Yap1 and keeps it out of the nucleus, but when squamous carcinoma cells mutate with alpha-cantenin they can get back into the nucleus and cause tumor growth. The alpha-cantenin can tell skin cells whether to grow or to stop growing through the Yap1. This molecular "switch" they found could lead to finding ways to grow skin cells when needed or reverse and stop cancerous cell growth.
I think that this is really neat, that like they were able to find the connection between the growth of cancerous tumors to the growth of skin cells. If this "switch" can lead to easier skin cell growth for people with burns or that are in need of new skin, and then turn around and stop skin cancer cells that's awesome. I would totally agree with further research on this subject, because now more people are getting into tanning and being tan all the time, which can lead to serious cases of skin cancer. So, in this case it's like, they can get new skin if they need it or have their cancer cells inactivated all through the same research.
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