Src structure crystallizes 20 years of oncogene research
Featherstone, C.
Science 275(5303): 1066
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-8075 PMID: 9054006 Document Number: 470699
In a recent issue of Nature, Wenqing Xu and colleagues of Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston describe the crystal structure of the inactive Src protein. Almost every aspect of the gene src has been under intense scrutiny since it was found that a normal cellular gene could spark wild cell growth--and cancer--when modified by a virus or mutations. The researchers' structure, which supports previous research on the function of various parts of the protein, indicates that in the benign form of Src, regulatory segments keep the enzyme's active site closed. The new structure opens the way for rational design of drugs that might keep Src and its relatives harmless and so prove useful in cancer therapy.