Study offers insights into cell growth 'on/off' switch

DURHAM, N.C. According to a study published in the April issue of the journal Nature Cell Biology, new information has been found about an on-off switch that controls cell growth could one day help identify targets for drugs to treat cancer and other diseases that involve unnatural cell growth.

If the switch is “on,” then a cell will divide, even if it’s damaged or the signal to grow disappears, according to researchers at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy.

The on-off switch is part of the pathway that controls cell division, the process that creates new cells. Before a cell divides, it goes through a checklist to make sure everything is in order. If the cell senses a problem early on, it can halt the process. But once the cell passes what's called the restriction point, it can no longer stop division. This on-off switch controls the restriction point and therefore plays an important role in cell growth, according to the study.