Researchers discover binding partner of TDF hormone

Researchers at Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., led by Chemistry & Biomolecular Science Professor Costel C. Darie, in collaboration with researchers from Columbia University, have now found the binding partner of TDF, a pituitary hormone that had previously been shown to reduce cancer progression in breast cancer cells, in prostate cancer as well.

The study suggests that TDF may play a general role of inhibiting cancerous cells in both the breast and in the prostate.

"Finding the receptor for the TDF hormone in both the breast and prostate will allow us to design treatments targeting both cancer types," said Darie.

Darie's group has led in the search for a cellular receptor in cancer cells that might bind TDF and inhibit tumor growth. A receptor, labeled TDF-R, was found exclusively in the prostate and breast, but not in other cancer cells, suggesting that this factor is specific to these cancer types.

The results of the research will be reported in an upcoming issue of a journal published by the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS).