Health & Medicine
Molecule Helps Block the Spread of Secondary Tumors
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Jul 07, 2014 10:11 AM EDT
Certain cancer cells may be more dangerous than others, as some carry the potential to metastasize and cause secondary tumors throughout areas of the body.Now, scientists may have discovered how to stop these deadly growths by triggering chemical signals that can block the spread of future tumors. The study's results are published in the Journal of Cell Biology.
Most cancer deaths are not due to primary tumors, but to secondary ones that can spread throughout vital organs and cause the death of cells.
To investigate just how to stop the cell expansion, researchers used embryonic cells to determine how groups of cells move in a developmental process that's similar to that used by metastasized cancer cells.
University of College London (UCL) researchers found that a molecule known as lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) can change the cells from a solid-like to liquid state, allowing them to flow between normal tissues throughout the body. During their study, however, scientists were able to successfully switch off the LPA signals, and stop the cells from moving down narrow, blood vessel-like channels.
"We have found a way to stop the movement of embryonic cells by blocking LPA signals. It is likely that a similar mechanism operates during cancer invasion, which suggests a promising alternative in which cancer treatments might work in the future, if therapies can be targeted to limit the tissue fluidity of tumors," said lead study author Professor Roberto Mayor of UCL Cell & Developmental Biology, in a news release.
"Our findings are important for the fields of cell, developmental and cancer biology. Previously, we thought cells only moved around the body either individually or as groups of well-connected cells. What we have discovered is a hybrid state where cells loosen their links to neighbouring cells but still move en masse together, like a liquid. Moreover, we can stop this movement".
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First Posted: Jul 07, 2014 10:11 AM EDT
Certain cancer cells may be more dangerous than others, as some carry the potential to metastasize and cause secondary tumors throughout areas of the body.Now, scientists may have discovered how to stop these deadly growths by triggering chemical signals that can block the spread of future tumors. The study's results are published in the Journal of Cell Biology.
Most cancer deaths are not due to primary tumors, but to secondary ones that can spread throughout vital organs and cause the death of cells.
To investigate just how to stop the cell expansion, researchers used embryonic cells to determine how groups of cells move in a developmental process that's similar to that used by metastasized cancer cells.
University of College London (UCL) researchers found that a molecule known as lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) can change the cells from a solid-like to liquid state, allowing them to flow between normal tissues throughout the body. During their study, however, scientists were able to successfully switch off the LPA signals, and stop the cells from moving down narrow, blood vessel-like channels.
"We have found a way to stop the movement of embryonic cells by blocking LPA signals. It is likely that a similar mechanism operates during cancer invasion, which suggests a promising alternative in which cancer treatments might work in the future, if therapies can be targeted to limit the tissue fluidity of tumors," said lead study author Professor Roberto Mayor of UCL Cell & Developmental Biology, in a news release.
"Our findings are important for the fields of cell, developmental and cancer biology. Previously, we thought cells only moved around the body either individually or as groups of well-connected cells. What we have discovered is a hybrid state where cells loosen their links to neighbouring cells but still move en masse together, like a liquid. Moreover, we can stop this movement".
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone