An IRCM researcher pinpoints the cellular mechanism responsible for modulating the permeability of blood vessels

Dr. Jean-Philippe Gratton, director of the endothelial cell biology research unit at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal, identifies a new intracellular mechanism responsible for modulating vascular permeability: the nitrosylation of beta-catenin protein by nitric oxide. This scientific breakthrough could have a possible impact on the treatment of cancerous tumors by altering the permeability of the blood vessels irrigating them. Dr. Gratton's team will publish the results of its research tomorrow in the scientific journal Molecular Cell.