Cancer researchers hope to develop a cancer vaccine.
Credit: National Cancer Institute.
Researchers at Western University in Ontario, Canada have discovered a protein that can curb DNA damage. The breakthrough discovery could have practical applications in anything from developing cancer vaccines to creating drought-resistant crops.
The researchers found the protein – called DdrC (DNA Damage Repair Protein C) – in a common bacterium named Deinococcus radiodurans. The protein has the incredible ability to withstand between 5,000 and 10,000 times the radiation that would kill a normal human cell.
Lead researcher Robert Sczabla says that Deinococcus also stands out for its ability to repair DNA that’s already been damaged. He explained that while every cell has a DNA repair mechanism, it has clearly defined limits.
Sczabla said, “With a human cell, if there are any more than two breaks in the entire billion base pair genome, it can’t fix itself and it dies. But in the case of DdrC, this unique protein helps the cell to repair hundreds of broken DNA fragments into a coherent genome.”
Discovery Is Promising for Medicine and Agriculture
According to the researchers, this breakthrough could have exciting scientific implications that extend beyond the medical world. In theory, the gene could be introduced into plants, animals, or humans to increase the DNA repair efficiency of the organism’s cells.
Sczabla describes the future potential for a “scanning system” within an organism that patrols cells and neutralises damage as it happens. The hope is that this could offer hope for a cancer vaccine in the future.
Cancer Vaccines: Prevention Over Cure
Cancer treatment currently very much relies on treatment once a diagnosis has already taken place. The prospect of a vaccine that could prevent it is an exciting one for the medical community and the many people around the world who have been touched by cancer.
So far, no vaccines that specifically target cancer have been successfully developed. However, the development and widespread administration of the HPV vaccine is hoped to have a dramatic impact on the prevalence of cervical cancer, with research showing more than 98% of patients who complete a full vaccination series develop an antibody response to HPV.
