The same genetic mutations that can trigger cancer in some tissues are relatively harmless in others.
The same genetic mutations that can trigger cancer in some tissues are relatively harmless in others. A new Yale study has identified an unlikely source of protection against some forms of skin cancer — hair follicle regeneration.
The regeneration of hair follicles protects against tumor growth even in the presence of the well-known cancer-causing mutation HRAS, which is associated with 30% of all cancers, the authors report Sept. 5 in the Journal of Cell Biology.
“Hair follicles have a uniquely enhanced ability to contain mutant cells,’’ said Yale’s Cristiana Pineda, lead author of the study and researcher in the lab of Valentina Greco, professor of genetics and the study’s senior author.
Read more at Yale University
Image: Even in the presence of cancer-causing mutation HRAS, hair follicles regenerate and suppress mutant cells to restore their normal shape. CREDIT: Yale University
