Publications by authors named "Maya N Zaatari"
Cancer Discov
September 2019
Article Synopsis
- Nearly all cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) involve activating mutations in KRAS, which makes targeting this oncogene challenging despite its role in promoting cancer progression.
- The study reveals that oncogenic KRAS drives the expression of a protein called NIX, which initiates a selective process called mitophagy that helps cancer cells use glucose more efficiently and maintain their redox balance.
- By deleting NIX, researchers observed a delay in cancer progression and improved survival rates in mice, indicating that the KRAS-NIX mitophagy pathway could be a new treatment target in pancreatic cancer.
