Bizarre knotted DNA structures linked to cancer in mice - Livescience.com

Oddly tangled and looped DNA structures could be linked to cancer, according to a new study in mice.

But the loss of key enzymes in the body causes the genetic molecule to become tangled up in bizarre loops and knots, and at least in mice, these odd DNA structures may drive the development of cancer, The Scientist reported.

However, studies suggest that when cells don't carry enough TET enzymes, this deficiency may contribute to the development of cancer.

In white blood cells, in particular, research has revealed a strong correlation between a lack of TET enzymes and the onset of cancer, The Scientist reported.

To uncover the reason for this correlation, scientists conducted a study in which they deleted two of the three mammalian TET enzymes — TET2 and TET3 — from the white blood cells of mice.

They used genetic modification to delete the genes for TET2 and TET3 from the rodents' mature B cells, a type of white blood cell.

Within a few weeks, the mice developed B cell lymphoma, a cancer of the B cells.

This lymphoma in humans seems to originate in so-called germinal centers, where T cells, another type of white blood cell, get together with B cells to make antibodies, Rao explained.

These weird, four-stranded knots appear in cancer cells at much higher rates than in healthy cells, and they have been linked to cancer cells' ability to rapidly divide, according to Live Science. .

Nicoletta Lanese is a staff writer for Live Science covering health and medicine, along with an assortment of biology, animal, environment and climate stories