Researchers looking for a missing cause of a common type of mutation in breast cancer cells have uncovered the biochemical culprit and found that it may also be a general source of mutation in other cancer types.
Reporting in the scientific journal Nature Communications, University of Minnesota researcher Reuben Harris and colleagues found that an enzyme known as APOBEC3H-I is the most likely cause of these previously unexplained mutations. Harris is a professor in the university's College of Biological Sciences, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and a member of the Masonic Cancer Center.