Researchers describe a newly-observed role for the protein Cyclin Dependent Kinase 9 (CDK9) in regulating DNA repair during cellular division, where errors can become the origin of cancerous tumor growth. Through a process called phosphorylation, the experiment simulated the interaction of CDK9 with the other proteins and genes involved in cell division and cancerous tumor growth.

This study is based on the use of CRISPR/Cas9 technology to generate an experimental line of HeLa cervical carcinoma cells which no longer express the 55kDa molecular weight isoform. The study is published March 4 in Oncogene, by the Nature Group. The research group is led by Prof. Antonio Giordano M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Temple University, Professor of Pathology at the University of Siena, and Founder of the Sbarro Health Research Organization (SHRO).