Grant: Operating Grant

The PRL proteins have been found elevated in most cancers and in metastasis. This proposal investigates the function of these proteins in the process of cancer formation, proliferation and dissemination. Recently, we obtained exciting findings that the PRLs are associated to magnesium transporters in cancer cells named CNNMs. Through their actions they induce an increase in energy production by the tumour cells allowing them to maintain the high metabolic growth and need for their metastatic property. As we showed that removal or inhibition of this PRL gene leads to a major reduction in tumour formation we desire to study in details how this energy increase is induced by these genes in cancer cells. This proposal will thus characterize the biology of this novel mechanism and identify specific ways by which new anti-cancer therapeutics could be developed.