Cancer: World's First 3-D Image Of Protein Involved In Cancer Spread

Researchers have created the world's first three-dimensional, or 3-D, image of a protein that spreads cancer, according to a study at the Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics.

"Our research is a brave new frontier and we are making great advances towards the discovery of new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics for significant diseases, including various cancers," said Professor Mark von Itzstein, lead author of the study and director of the institute.

"We have grown from a handful of researchers to more than 180 of the best from across the world," said von Itzstein, in a news release.

Von Itzstein and his team's 3-D image shows the architecture and intimate atomic-level details of a bacterial heparanase, which is an enzyme that degrades sugar molecules, called heparan sulfate.

To this point, cancer researchers have used computational studies to make a guess of what the 3-D structures of the enzyme looks like. This structural depiction of the enzyme will enable researchers to better under and develop potential anticancer drugs and treatments.

"This research has been 10 years in the making and we will now turn our focus to developing a novel anticancer drug," said von Itzstein.

The Institute for Glycomics is the only one of its kind in Australia and it is one of six in the world.

This study was published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

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