Medical Xpress April 2, 2025
Estela Jacinto, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has been studying a crucial pathway for human cell growth and metabolism for more than two decades.
So, when researchers figured out how certain cancers allow fats to hijack that pathway and grow uncontrollably, Jacinto was a natural person to explain that discovery’s importance for the journal Science.
She discusses the breakthrough.
What’s the key discovery, and why is it important?
Researchers discovered that an essential fatty acid called omega-6 linoleic acid, which we can only get by eating it, directly activates a central growth pathway in our cells called mTORC1. This activation depends on a protein called FABP5, which acts as a lipid...
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