SAN JOSE, Calif.--Thermo Fisher Scientific and the Biotech Research and Innovation Center (BRIC) at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) have shared results from two important scientific papers that advance understanding of how gene mutations drive cancer progression. The two landmark studies, published this week in the journal CELL, are some of the early results of the strategic collaboration between Thermo Fisher Scientific and the Linding Lab at BRIC, UCPH.
“The studies highlight the importance of integrating proteomics with genomics in future cancer studies and underscores the value of the broad technological expertise within Thermo Fisher”
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Using advanced Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Fusion mass spectrometry and next-generation sequencing technologies, researchers from the Universities of Copenhagen, Yale, Zurich, Rome and Tottori describe how specific cancer mutations target and damage the protein signaling networks within human cells on a global scale.
By developing advanced algorithms to integrate data from quantitative mass-spectrometry and next generation sequencing of tumor samples, the researchers have been able to uncover cancer-related changes to phosphorylation signaling networks. This new breakthrough allows researchers to identify the effects of mutations on the function of protein pathways in cancer for individual patients, even if those mutations are very rare.
Lead BRIC researcher Dr. Rune Linding said: “The identification of distinct changes within our tissues that could have the potential to help predict and treat cancer is a major step forward and we are confident that it can aid in the development of novel therapies and screening techniques.”
Since the human genome was decoded more than a decade ago, large scale cancer genome studies have successfully identified gene mutations in individual patients and tumors. However to develop improved cancer therapies, researchers need to explain and relate this genomic data to proteins, the targets of most pharmaceutical drugs. Creating this linkage provides powerful new insights into cancer biology and potential therapeutic approaches.
“The studies highlight the importance of integrating proteomics with genomics in future cancer studies and underscores the value of the broad technological expertise within Thermo Fisher,” said Ken Miller, vice president of research product marketing, life sciences mass spectrometry at Thermo Fisher. “It is becoming increasingly apparent that the genetic basis for each patient’s cancer is subtly, but importantly, different. This realization will inevitably lead to a need for tools to acquire and assess patient-specific information to develop highly personalized therapies with the potential for much greater efficacy. It is hoped that the novel approaches described in these studies, together with best-in-class enabling technologies such as the Orbitrap and Ion Torrent systems, will continue to improve our knowledge of cancer biology.”
The Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (BRIC) was established in 2003 by the Danish Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to form an elite centre in biomedical research.
The two studies will be available in advance online and printed in the 24th September issue of CELL, a premier journal in life and biological sciences. More information about the studies and links to media content can be found on http://www.lindinglab.science and http://www.bric.ku.dk. The work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC), the Lundbeck Foundation and Human Frontier Science Program.
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References
1. Creixell et al. Unmasking Determinants of Specificity in the Human Kinome. DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2015.08.057
2. Creixell et al. Kinome-wide Decoding of Network Attacking Mutations Rewiring Cancer. DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2015.08.056
