A discovery of how individual proteins in cells function could lead to the development of therapies where cancer-fighting proteins are selectively targeted at cancer tumors, researchers report.

Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have found a new way to fine-tune the activities proteins in cells and living mammals, leading to identification — more precisely than previously — of the functions of different proteins.

Results of the research were published Sunday in the online journal Nature Medicine.

The procedure to identify the proteins appears to be broadly applicable to all proteins.

"We have yet to find a protein the system doesn't work with," Steve Thorne, senior author of the research paper, said. Thorne is an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh who was involved in the work while a research associate at Stanford.

The work was directed by Chris Contag, associate professor of pediatrics, radiology and microbiology and immunology at Stanford, and Tom Wandless, assistant professor of chemical and systems biology at Stanford.

— Don Kazak