New research reveals caspase-2 enzyme deficiency increases risk of developing tumours

Researchers from the University of South Australia at the Centre for Cancer Biology have revealed that people with a deficiency of enzyme caspase-2 are at a higher risk of developing tumours.

Caspase-2 is a common enzyme found in all mammals and has the capacity to act as a tumour suppressor by destroying aneuploid cells.

Aneuploid cells are associated with abnormal chromosome content and cell division, which often develop into tumours if not killed.

University of South Australia research leader Sharad Kumar said that understanding how tumours arise, spread, and become drug resistant was critical to fighting cancer.

Kumar said: "Aneuploidy is a feature of the majority of human tumours and is known to lead to chromosomal instability that can promote cancer onset and progression and cause drug resistance."

In two recent publications, the research team used young and old mice that lacked caspase-2 to demonstrate that deficiency of the enzyme results in enhanced aneuploidy and DNA damage in bone marrow (BM) cells with ageing.

Professor Kumar noted that the research establishes that caspase-2 helps prevent the long-term survival and uncontrolled growth of aneuploid cells.

Kumar added: "The research has provided many clues on the molecular basis of preventing aneuploidy and tumour onset and identifies caspase-2 protein levels as a potential biomarker for cancer prognosis.

"Understanding how cells become tumorigenic and how tumours evade normal 'stop growth' and 'cell death' checkpoint signals is fundamental in cancer treatment and our search for new cancer therapies."