Proliferation protein goes rogue in lung cancer

A defective protein might be a key go-between in the string of terrible molecular events that lead to lung cancer. The protein, called Rac1b, gets activated by other compounds and launches cells in smokers’ lungs toward malignant behavior, experiments in human cells and mice suggest.

The findings open the door for lung cancer researchers to investigate the molecular chain reaction, or pathway, in which Rac1b is involved.