Barmer, Nov. 13 -- Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur have uncovered new insights into how cells control their growth and division - discoveries that could pave the way for new treatments for cancer and rare genetic disorders. Their research focuses on the centrosome, a tiny structure inside cells that acts as the "mission control," ensuring orderly division and stability. When this system fails, cells divide uncontrollably or develop abnormally, leading to diseases. By decoding how centrosomes maintain balance, the researchers are opening new possibilities for targeted, more effective therapies that can stop diseased cells while sparing healthy ones. At IIT Jodhpur, Dr Priyanka Singh, associate professor in the department of bioscience and bioengineering, and her team are uncovering how centrosomes orchestrate cell division, maintain balance, and how their disruption triggers diseases such as cancer and microcephaly. "Our goal is to map the cell's exact wiring diagram - knowledge that can help stop cancer while sparing healthy cells," says Dr Singh. During cell division, centrosomes duplicate and migrate to opposite poles of the cell, sending out microtubule "ropes" that pull chromosomes apart. But when this process goes wrong - with too many or too few centrosomes - cells divide uncontrollably, fuelling cancer growth. Dr Singh's group discovered that PLK4, a master regulator protein, acts like a molecular switch, toggling at precise moments to ensure flawless cell division. Her team also identified a surprising interaction between STIL, a key centrosome protein, and BRCA1, a well-known tumor suppressor - revealing how the cell's internal machinery also doubles as a defence system against cancer. In studies of primary microcephaly, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder, the team found that different mutations in the same protein, CPAP, can cause opposing effects - one leading to oversized centrosomes, the other to excessive numbers of them. Their work also sheds light on how cancer cells "cheat" the system by clustering extra centrosomes to divide normally - a survival trick that could be exploited for targeted therapies. "We have identified mutations that allow cancer cells to cluster centrosomes," Dr. Singh explains. "The exciting part is that we can now disrupt these clusters with specific compounds - paving the way for new anti-cancer drugs." In collaboration with Dr. Sandip Murarka's chemistry group at IIT Jodhpur, the team is also identifying novel chemical scaffolds that selectively target microtubules. While existing drugs such as Taxol are used to block this process, many cancers develop resistance. IIT Jodhpur's in-house compounds have shown strong activity at very low doses, making them promising leads for future applications. "Centrosomes are cell's command centers," says Dr Singh. "If we understand how they make decisions, we can rewrite the rules of disease, from cancer to developmental disorders."...