H2A.B undergoes arginine methylation by PRMT1 in HL cells. Credit score: Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adx1568
A brand new discovery made by researchers from The Australian Nationwide College (ANU) might result in smarter, simpler remedies for Hodgkin lymphoma, a standard blood most cancers.
The research, printed in Science Advances , discovered {that a} particular protein referred to as H2A.B—usually solely present in sperm-producing cells within the testis—is hijacked by most cancers cells in Hodgkin lymphoma sufferers.
ANU Professor David Tremethick stated H2A.B acts “like a rogue switchboard” in most cancers cells—serving to them to develop and survive.
“It’s not just sitting on the DNA, it’s actively reshaping how genes are read, how proteins are made, and even how the cancer cell’s internal machinery is rewired to promote tumor growth,” he stated. “Because H2A.B is not normally present in most healthy tissues, targeting it could be a highly selective approach for cancer therapy, minimizing the damage to normal cells.”
Co-author Affiliate Professor Tatiana Soboleva stated it is one of many few variants of any such protein with the potential to be druggable.
“Targeting how H2A.B is modified or how it interacts with other proteins could help switch off cancer-promoting pathways,” she stated. “Previous studies had hinted at H2A.B’s role in cancer, but this is the first in-depth look at how it allows cancer cells to hijack normal genetic programming.”
In keeping with the authors, the H2A.B is a component of a bigger sample of most cancers re-activating genes that ought to solely be used throughout replica.
“Understanding how and why this happens provides another major step toward developing smarter, more targeted therapies,” Affiliate Professor Soboleva stated.
“We now know that H2A.B can bind to a special group of proteins called the SWI/SNF complex that is necessary to open up DNA to activate the expression of genes. Blocking H2A.B’s interactions could stop its cancer-promoting effects.”
Extra data:
Xuanzhao Jiang et al, Nonchromatin regulatory features of the histone variant H2A.B in SWI/SNF genomic deposition, Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adx1568
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Australian Nationwide College
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