Question: If the proteins do end up in the wrong place, where would that be?

Leanne Milton-Harris answered on 20 May 2020:

Hi Thalia & Theo,

Thanks for the question! Proteins are really important for keeping all of the processes in your cells on track. They work in groups to turn on and off the expression of other proteins in cells – sending signals that make everything in your cells behave normally.

You have lots of types of cells in your body, and they all have different jobs, which means they need to have different proteins being made and sending signals. Sometimes this can go wrong, and we get a mix-up with the signals – so proteins that belong in cell type 1, end up being made in cell type 2! This can be really dangerous, proteins will start to make groups and send signals even if they don’t belong in those cells, and that leads to more mistakes and eventually can make people very sick.

An example of this is a protein I used to work on. It’s really important that this protein is made in red blood cells so that they grow properly. If this protein gets accidentally made in white blood cells though – the wrong place – it changes the signals in those cells and can cause blood cancer.

I hope that helps explain it!

Leanne