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Cancer

Cell survival guide

Nature volume 431, pages 35–36 (2004)Cite this article

A jaded observer might consider the cancer research field near maturity and surprising new results improbable. But work on the protein netrin-1 shows that unforeseen insights into cancer can still occur.

Named from the Sanskrit word for ‘one who guides’, the netrin-1 protein was discovered because of its ability to direct the migration of axons in the developing spinal cord1,2. The functions of netrin proteins in axon guidance and neural cell migration have consequently received much attention (reviewed in ref. 3). But the report on page 80 of this issue from Mazelin et al.4 makes the case that netrin-1 might offer unanticipated guidance for the cancer field as well.

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Figure 1: Model for the role of netrin-1 and DCC in regulating cell survival and death in the intestine, based on Mazelin and colleagues' results4.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Departments of Internal Medicine and Pathology, University of Michigan School of Medicine and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, 48109-2216, Michigan, USA

    Eric R. Fearon & Kathleen R. Cho

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  1. Eric R. Fearon
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  2. Kathleen R. Cho
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Fearon, E., Cho, K. Cell survival guide. Nature 431, 35–36 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/431035a

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