What's Your Job?

Every cell contains many thousands of different proteins, each with its own job. Different sets of proteins are present in different types of cell, and because of this, things can get complicated. TFF3 is a protein that has been found to have roles in promoting cancer in some cell types, and preventing cancer in others. It has been shown to prevent colon cancer cells from self-destructing, but new research into a type of eye cancer shows the opposite. Researchers working on retinoblastoma found that making the cancer cells produce high levels of TFF3 made them less likely to grow or survive, and more likely to self-destruct. It also led to tumours, such as the one in the image, being much smaller. Untangling the many roles of TFF3 could lead to a greater understanding of how cancer occurs in different cell types.

Written by Esther Redhouse White

Esther Redhouse White

Writer

A recent Biochemistry graduate from York, Esther has worked on bacterial killing proteins and genetic switches in worms. In her spare time she likes visiting museums full of skeletons.

• Image from work by Jan Große-Kreul and Maike Busch, and colleagues
• University of Duisburg-Essen, Medical Faculty, Institute of Anatomy II, Department of Neuroanatomy, Essen, Germany
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in PLOS One, September 2016