Published in 'Nature Cell Biology' Professors Yook Jong-In and Kim Hyun-Shil of Oral Pathology in the College of Dentistry brought hope in developing medical treatment for preventing the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. Moreover, they provided a new cellular and biological transferring method that could help control physiological activity, treating various diseases and preventing cancerous stem cells from spreading. Through cooperative research, Professors Yook and Kim, along with Professor S. J. Weiss’ research team at the University of Michigan, and Professor Choi Yoon-Jung’s research team of the Insurance Corporation of Ilsan Hospital have made headway regarding the cancer cell invasion system. This investigation has been supported by the Korean Health Industry Development Institute, and has been published in the global scientific journal Nature Cell Biology on October 30. Cancer cells infinitely multiply and spread towards other parts of the body, so called metastasis, making it difficult to treat. In addition, they show high rates of recurrence. Although much research has been done regarding the proliferation of cancer cells, there has never been any information about a system that enables the cells to invade. To observe this process, there had to be an adequate research model that shows the internal state of the body. Without this, the mechanism of how cancer cells spread and multiply into different organs could not be studied. Accordingly, Professors Yook and Kim, along with the University of Michigan have done joint research to clarify the transferring of cancer cells, and last year proclaimed that the Wnt system within the cancer cells can suppress the GSK-3(Glycogen synthase kinase-3) enzyme. In turn, the activation of Snail genes could lead the cancer cells to be transferred. The Journal of Biological Chemistry in 2005 has stated that the core cause of this transfer was through snail genes. Based on this research, the teams initiated the search to specifically examine the passage of the Wnt signal in snail proteins and proved that the activation of β-catenin due to the Wnt signal increases the Axin-2 gene, and that this increase brings forth the GSK-3 enzyme that transports in the nucleus of a cell to the cytoplasm which activates the Snail genes. Simply put, the process of 'Wnt signal→β-catenin activation→increase of Axin-2 genes' controls the export of GSK-3 from the nucleus, eventually leading to the cancer cell's snail genes to activate and spread. This study has been highly praised for being the first to specify the entire transfer process of cancer cells. Opening the Possibility for Curing Rheumatoid Arthritis and Alzheimer’s Disease Professor Yook stated, "By understanding each phase in the transferring process, we can choose one stage to suppress the spreading of cancer cells through various traces in medication enabling the chance to treat the disease." He added that the Axin-2 gene incites the function of spreading out the cells, proclaiming that it is inevitable to make revisions about the theories of those organisms. Professors Yook and Kim have also uncovered a new function of the Axin gene and created a new hypothesis that there is a possibility of treating diseases caused by the GSK-3 (i.e. Rheumatoid Arthritis, Alzheimer’s Disease, and retina diseases). Moreover, they created a theory that the transmission signals of Wnt can control stem cells from activating and proliferating, and in the near future, strategies could be made to control those activated cells.