Scientists find "impossible" cell survival pathway tied to cancer

A molecular geneticist at Montana State University discovered a previously unknown route by which mammalian cells obtain cysteine when their main disulfide reductase systems fail. Published in Nature Chemical Biology, the finding could eventually make some cancers more vulnerable to treatment.

• Cells use an alternative route to get cysteine when disulfide reductases fail
• The discovery took nine years and was published in Nature Chemical Biology
• The same mechanism may help cancer cells survive chemo and radiation
• Researchers hope to selectively disable the pathway in tumors