Softening Up Chemo-Resistant Cancer Cells

Scientists at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) have identified a gene that is involved in controlling the sensitivity of cancer cells to DNA-damaging agents (DDAs). Their investigations found that the Schlafen 11 protein impacts on the function of the protein serine/threonine kinases ATM and ATR—which play key roles in cells’ DNA damage response—by cleaving the transfer RNA (tRNA) tRNA-Leu-TAA.“We found that if you expose cells that have Schlafen 11 to DNA da