Jeffrey Brault, PhD

Coordination between the eIF2 kinase GCN2 and p53 signaling supports purine metabolism and the progression of prostate cancer science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… This study explores how the integrated stress response (ISR) helps prostate cancer cells survive, particularly those lacking the p53 tumor suppressor. Researchers found that inhibiting the ISR kinase GCN2 in p53-deficient #ProstateCancer cells disrupts amino acid availability, which is crucial for purine nucleotide synthesis. This disruption is deadly to p53-deficient cells because they cannot initiate the protective cell cycle arrest and senescence that p53 typically triggers. In contrast, p53-functional tumors can survive GCN2 inhibition. In mouse models, GCN2 inhibition slowed tumor growth in both types but was especially lethal to p53-deficient tumors, suggesting a potential therapeutic strategy for targeting p53-deficient prostate cancers. @BraultMuscleLab @kirkstaschke Ping @nataliagandur @yekeduz_emre @bavilima

#Cover: Uric acid formation is driven by crosstalk between skeletal muscle and other cell types: buff.ly/3SpUND9 An immunofluorescence #image of C2C12 myotubes displaying myosin heavy chain (orange) and nuclei (blue); Credit: @SpencerGMiller @BraultMuscleLab @IUMedSchool