{"id":215029,"date":"2025-06-26T05:07:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T05:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/215029\/"},"modified":"2025-06-26T05:07:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T05:07:13","slug":"new-protein-targets-for-cancer-treatments-healthcare-in-europe-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/215029\/","title":{"rendered":"New protein targets for cancer treatments \u2022 healthcare-in-europe.com"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"fancybox content-img\" rel=\"fancybox noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/healthcare-in-europe.com\/media\/story_section_text\/41386\/image-01-simon-braun-portrait_hires.jpg\" title=\"Simon Braun\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/image-01-simon-braun-portrait.jpg\" alt=\"Portrait photo of Simon Braun\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Simon Braun<\/p>\n<p>Human DNA contains over 20,000 genes and would stretch nearly two metres if fully uncoiled. To fit this enormous amount of information into a tiny space within a cell \u2014 just 10 to 100 micrometres in diameter \u2014 it must be tightly compacted. This is the job of chromatin, a complex of proteins that packages and condenses DNA within the cell nucleus. However, in this condensed form, the DNA is unreadable and therefore inactive. Other proteins are needed to remodel chromatin, allowing access to specific DNA sequences at the right time and place, so the cell can read the genetic instructions that determine its function within the body.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese two proteins could become promising therapeutic targets for diseases linked to disrupted chromatin remodelling \u2014 and potentially offer treatments that are less toxic than current options,\u201d says Simon Braun, assistant professor in the Department of Genetic Medicine and Development at the UNIGE Faculty of Medicine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This epigenetic mechanism \u2014 the regulation of gene expression \u2014 can sometimes go awry. When the wrong region of DNA is opened, it can disrupt the cell\u2019s identity \u2014 in other words, its function. \u201cThis is what we observe in skin cells, for example,\u201d explains the expert. \u201cIf inappropriate regions of chromatin are exposed, parts of the genome that promote abnormal cell growth can become active, potentially leading to skin cancer. If this dysregulation occurs in developing neurons, it may also contribute to neurological disorders such as autism.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Simon Braun Human DNA contains over 20,000 genes and would stretch nearly two metres if fully uncoiled. To&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215030,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3846],"tags":[267,85501,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-215029","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-genetics","9":"tag-led-by-smgbraun-and-hanna-schwammle-at-unige_en-bruniversite-de-geneve-brled-by-smgbraun-bsky-social-and-hanna-schwammle-at-the-university-of-geneva","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114747935562581179","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}