The routine maintenance processes in a cell detect and remove faulty and worn out cell parts so they can be broken down and recycled.
A protein called TIAM1 controls the links by which the cells are bound together.
In lung cancer cells where the cell maintenance goes wrong, too many TIAM1 links are scrapped off.
"This important research shows for the first time how lung cancer cells sever ties with their neighbours and start to spread around the body, by hijacking the cells' recycling process and sending it into overdrive....
The routine maintenance processes in a cell detect and remove faulty and worn out cell parts so they can be broken down and recycled.
A protein called TIAM1 controls the links by which the cells are bound together.
In lung cancer cells where the cell maintenance goes wrong, too many TIAM1 links are scrapped off.
"This important research shows for the first time how lung cancer cells sever ties with their neighbours and start to spread around the body, by hijacking the cells' recycling process and sending it into overdrive....