Studying fruit fly eyes could find new ways to fight cancer

researchers at Russia's Far East Federal University have found that a protein called RPS-12 in the human body can induce triple-negative breast cancer and possibly other types of cancer. The study found that RPS-12 indirectly affects the activation of important intercellular signaling path paths (WNT genes), which are activated during embryonic development and shut down in the adult life of healthy cells, with researchers looking at the eyes of fruit flies, the findings of which were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
using the gene pool of fruit flies and triple-negative breast cancer, Russian researchers have launched a large-scale screening process for human cancer-causing genes. The researchers "inserted" active genes from human tumors into the genome of the fruit fly's eye to trigger their expression and look at potential defects in the development of the fruit fly's eye. It was found that the fruit fly's eyes shrank and looked mirror-like.
"It's reminiscent of the classic mirroring phenomenon discovered as early as 1920 by Thomas Morgan, the father of genetics, but it wasn't until the 1990s that people realized that the mutation was based on a special gene, Wingless," explains the head of natural compound pharmacology at the Federal University of the Far East, explaining that the fruit fly gene is almost exactly the same as the WNT gene that triggers the signaling path of the human name. The activity of the WNT gene signaling path is essential for the development of the human body at the embryonic stage, but can be shut down at a later stage. But because of a genetic mutation, it can restart, and the first healthy cells begin to divide in large numbers in adults. This is one of the causes of triple negative breast cancer and liver cancer, bowel cancer and other cancers.
, the researchers concluded that the RPS-12 protein is responsible for the production of the WNT gene in the body.
it's no coincidence that the eyes of a fruit fly are used in experiments, it's a good research model. Fruit fly eyes have complex and multi-stage development. Almost all known signaling pathways and cellular mechanisms are activated at all stages of their development. For this reason, scientists suggest that any human cancer-causing gene that is "transplanted" into the eyes of fruit flies can affect their development. A fruit fly with a damaged eye can live into adulthood, which means that the development of the disease can be observed simply by studying insects through a microscope.