Saya Hideyuki
Division of Gene Regulation, Institute for Advanced Medical Research, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinano-machi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Brain Nerve. 2009 Jul;61(7):843-7.
Cells maintain their homeostasis by checkpoint mechanisms that exist at each phase of the cell cycle. Impairment of the checkpoint mechanisms induces DNA mutation and asymmetric segregation of chromosomes, which result in genomic instability, leading to malignant cell transformation. DNA-damaging agents, which are still the first-line chemotherapeutic drugs for various cancers, have recently been demonstrated to induce death in cancer cells alone just because these cells have abnormalities in their checkpoint mechanisms. The mitotic checkpoint, in particular, has been found to play a key role in the drug-induced cell death. An understanding of the molecular mechanisms of chemotherapy will enable us to use conventional drugs more appropriately for cancer treatment.
细胞通过存在于细胞周期各阶段的检查点机制来维持其体内平衡。检查点机制受损会诱导DNA突变和染色体不对称分离，从而导致基因组不稳定，进而引发恶性细胞转化。DNA损伤剂仍是治疗各种癌症的一线化疗药物，最近已证明，仅因为癌细胞的检查点机制存在异常，这些药物就能诱导癌细胞死亡。特别是有丝分裂检查点，已发现其在药物诱导的细胞死亡中起关键作用。了解化疗的分子机制将使我们能够更恰当地使用传统药物进行癌症治疗。
