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Fat availability determines breast cancer growth

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Various media channels have explained new research revealing that the division and proliferation of breast tumor cells is dependent on the uptake of lipids (fats) from circulating blood.

The article, published in Nature Communications, is the result of a collaboration between Roger Gomis, ICREA researcher and head of the Growth control and cancer metastasis group, and Joan J. Guinovart, director of IRB Barcelona and group leader of the Metabolic engineering and diabetes therapy group. The work has been done in collaboration with hospitals in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia, and also with the Universitat Rovira i Virgili. The Chilean scientist Felipe Slebe is the first author of the study.

The study explains that tumor cells have high levels of LIPG, a membrane protein that facilitates lipid entry into the cell.

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About IRB Barcelona

The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) pursues a society free of disease. To this end, it conducts multidisciplinary research of excellence to cure cancer and other diseases linked to ageing. It establishes technology transfer agreements with the pharmaceutical industry and major hospitals to bring research results closer to society, and organises a range of science outreach activities to engage the public in an open dialogue. IRB Barcelona is an international centre that hosts 400 researchers and more than 30 nationalities. Recognised as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence since 2011, IRB Barcelona is a CERCA centre and member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).