As reported in the November issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a specific human enzyme that can cause the death of cancer cells have been identified by scientists at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI).

Researchers studied the behavior of an enzyme called sphingosine phosphate lyase (SPL), which can regulate cell growth and death by lowering the levels of a natural, growth-promoting lipid called sphingosine-1-phosphate, or S1P.

Researchers identified SPL as a key regulator of cancer cells. They discovered that if the cancer cells were stressed by chemotherapy, SPL could be activated or "turned on" to reduce the levels of S1P, which is needed to cause cell death.

The said study is the first to link the SPL enzyme to cancer.

According to lead author Julie Saba, M.D., Ph.D.:

"The enzyme SPL senses when a cell has sustained damage or is undergoing mutations. Once the enzyme is aware of these changes it responds by killing the cell. We hope to find new ways to leverage the body's own natural responses to these mutated or damaged cells to target cancer cells."

Read the full report at CHORI or at Science Daily.