Protein paradox: finding out how a family of molecules can both help and hinder cancer

Meet the scientist

Dr Pardo was born in France where he studied Pharmacy. But he always knew that scientific research was his future. He first came to the UK as a visiting student working in labs during the summer holidays. He met wonderful people along the way who mentored him and helped him establish his career in the UK. When not in the lab, he trains Chinese martial arts and reads, with music being a constant companion.

The science

RSK proteins normally help our cells to communicate with each other. In cancers, including breast cancer and lung cancer, the RSK proteins are involved in the formation of tumours, and so targeting these proteins is potentially a good way to treat cancer.
 
Until recently, researchers had assumed that the four members of the RSK family behaved similarly in the development of different cancers. However, a breakthrough from Dr Pardo and his team suggests that this is not the case. In lung cancer, the researchers found that blocking RSK4 stopped cancers from spreading and helped chemotherapy to cure the cancer. But blocking RSK1 did the opposite, actually helping lung cancers to grow. Even more surprising was that in breast cancer this was the opposite way round – blocking RSK1 helped stop cancers but blocking RSK4 helped cancers to grow.