A study published today in Cell Reports reveals important insights into the molecular mechanisms that underpin the body’s natural defences against the development of skin cancer. The findings offer new clues into the behaviour of skin cancer at the cellular level, paving the way for potential new therapeutic targets to treat the disease.
“We found that the protein CSDE1 coordinates a complex chain of events that enable senescence in skin cells, significantly slowing down their function without causing death,” says Rosario Avolio, first author of the study and postdoctoral researcher at the CRG at the time of submission. “The resulting cells act as a firewall against cancer, suppressing the formation of tumours.”
