Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and their international collaborators have discovered that a protein critical in the embryonic stages of life is reactivated in certain cases of mesothelioma, offering clues into the origin of this aggressive cancer.

The study published today in the journal Nature Communications.

"Together with our basic research and clinical collaborators, we have discovered that in numerous mesothelioma tumors, the Hand2 protein has been turned back on, possibly altering the cells of the tumor," said Christian Mosimann, Ph.D., lead author of the study and associate professor of pediatrics in the section of developmental biology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus. "Now we're investigating what causes this and what makes such mesothelioma tumors different from tumors that do not have Hand2 present."

Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that occurs in a thin layer of tissue called the mesothelium, which covers most internal organs. Its primary cause is exposure to asbestos.

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