University of Arizona
A new study found that cancer cells selectively chip away gene-rich sections of the Y chromosome, triggering ripples that regulate tumor growth.
Co-led by University of Arizona Cancer Center physician-scientist Dr. Dan Theodorescu, the paper, “Recurrent deletions and regulatory disruption of the Y chromosome in cancer,” was published in the journal Communications Biology.
Each cell in men’s bodies usually contains one X and one Y chromosome. The Y chromosome has long been known to determine male sex, but researchers are learning its genes also play other roles in cells throughout the body. “Loss of Y” is a common genetic change in aging men, often found in blood cells. Y loss also occurs in cancer cells themselves, which is the focus of this study…