加拿大蒙特利尔临床研究所（IRCM）的一项科学突破将发表于6月14日的 Developmental Cell，这项研究由IRCM的 Frédéric Charron博士领导。该研究小组发现了一种Sonic Hedgehog蛋白质发挥正常功能所需的必要条件。 Sonic Hedgehog属于一个蛋白家族，这种蛋白质为细胞提供胚胎正常发育所需的信息。 它在机体许多器官如中枢神经系统的发育中都起着关键的作用。 这种蛋白质的功能障碍与许多疾病（包括癌症）都有关系。在加拿大，癌症是过早死亡的主要原因。
Luisa Izzi博士是Charron博士实验室的成员，也是论文的合作者，他说：“一方面，某些分子穿过我们的器官时，以Sonic Hedgehog为例，可以为细胞传递信号，指导细胞如何做出反应。另一方面，我们的细胞受体接受了这些信号，然后受体会向细胞中的DNA发出指令，指导相应基因的启动或关闭，以执行其功能。”
该小组研究了Sonic Hedgehog分子及其最近确定的受体Boc、 Cdon 和Gas1之间的所有发现于细胞表面上的相互作用。Charron博士的校友，也是论文的另一位合作者Martin Lévesque 补充道：“我们的研究出乎意料的显示，这些受体对于hedgehog分子的信号传输是必要的。”
IRCM神经发育研究所的分子生物学主任Charron博士说：“阻断Sonic hedgehog分子的信号传递可能会导致一些疾病。更好地了解Boc、 Cdon 和 Gas1受体可能会反过来帮助我们理解与Sonic hedgehog信号传递缺陷相关的病理。我们的研究结果也可能会对某些疾病如癌症的治疗提供新的途径。”（生物探索译）
生物探索推荐英文原文：
A scientific breakthrough at the IRCM could help understand certain cancers
A scientific breakthrough by researchers at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) will be published tomorrow in Developmental Cell, a scientific journal of the Cell Press group. Led by Dr. Frédéric Charron, the team of scientists discovered a new requirement for the proper functioning of the Sonic Hedgehog protein. Sonic Hedgehog belongs to a family of proteins that gives cells the information needed for the embryo to develop properly. It plays a critical role in the development of many of the body's organs, such as the central nervous system. Malfunctions of these proteins are associated with many diseases including cancer, which is the leading cause of death in Canada.
"On one hand, certain molecules travel through our organs (in this case, Sonic Hedgehog) and transmit signals to cells with information on how they should function," explains Luisa Izzi, postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Charron's laboratory and co-first author of the article. "On the other hand, our cells have receptors to receive these signals. The receptors then instruct the cell's DNA as to which genes to turn on or off in order to perform its function."
The team studied the interactions between the Sonic Hedgehog molecule and the recently-identified receptors Boc, Cdon and Gas1, all found on the surface of cells. "Our research showed, unexpectedly, that these receptors are essential for the transmission of the hedgehog molecule's signal," adds Martin Lévesque, an alumnus from Dr. Charron's research unit and co-first author of the article.
"Disrupting the transmission of the Sonic Hedgehog signal can lead to diseases," says Dr. Charron, Director of the IRCM's Molecular Biology of Neural Development research unit. "A better knowledge of the receptors Boc, Cdon and Gas1 might in turn help our understanding of pathologies associated with defective Sonic Hedgehog signalling. Our results could also lead to new avenues for the treatment of certain diseases such as cancer."
