New breast gene discovered
British scientists have discovered a gene involved in breast development that may help tackle cancer.
The gene has been dubbed "Scaramanga", after the three-nippled assassin in the James Bond film The Man With The Golden Gun.
Scientists from the Institute of Cancer Research made their discovery while researching abnormal breast development at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre.
Until now little was known about how specific genes control the development of breasts in human embryos. The process sometimes malfunctions, resulting in fewer, extra or misplaced breasts or nipples.
One in 18 people has an extra nipple, which can resemble freckle or a mole.
The researchers discovered the Scaramanga gene produces a protein called NRG3 that instructs embryonic cells to become breast cells. To confirm the link, they demonstrated that a synthetic form of NRG3 was able to provoke the formation of breast cells.
The work represents a major advance in the understanding of breast development, according to Professor Alan Ashworth, the director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre.
"By learning more about this gene and the protein it produces, it will allow us to determine how normal breast development is initiated and, importantly, examine how this is connected with breast cancer," he explained.
Professor Ashworth said: "Inappropriate signals to breast cells during adulthood by these same molecules may cause breast cancer."
The findings are reported in the journal Genes and Development.
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