A team of the CIBBIM-Nanomedicine (Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Research Center for Nanomedicine) at Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR) has discovered that Human SMC2 protein, a core Subunit of human condensin complex, is a novel transcriptional target of the WNT signaling pathway and a new therapeutic target. The protein plays a fundamental role in cell division and has an important activity in colorectal cancer, helping the quick division of tumor cells. The inhibition of this protein causes the death of tumor cells. For that reason, the application of this research is focused on its properties as a possible growth biomarker of the tumor and, at the same time, as a therapeutic target in colorectal cancer.This protein has a transferred patent for its properties as a proliferation biomarker of tumor cells and as a new target for oncological therapeutic intervention.The study, "http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=Human%20SMC2%20Protein%2C%20a%20Core%20Subunit%20of%20Human%20Condensin%20Complex%2C%20Is%20a%20Novel%20Transcriptional%20Target%20of%20the%20WNT%20Signaling%20Pathway%20and%20a%20New%20Therapeutic%20Target." published at Journal of Biology and Chemistry, described that this protein is directly regulated by the Wnt signaling pathway, which is the main molecular pathway involved in colorectal cancer. The results of the study also explain how this Wnt signaling pathway increases the expression of condensins that are essential for the quick division of tumor cells. “The role of these proteins has also been verified in animal models: the proteins have been blocked and we have seen that its inhibition causes a quick cell tumor death”, says Dr. Simon Schwartz JR, head of CIBBIM-Nanomedicine.