Sugar-Coated Cells are a Potentially Deadly Problem for Cancer Patients

Sugar-coated cells can be particularly deadly for cancer patients, according to a recent study by researchers from Cornell University. As every cell's surface holds a protein-embedded membrane that's covered in polysaccharide chains, this could be a crucial determinant to the cell's survival.

Researchers found that this coating can result in physical changes to the cell's membrane that may promote the life of other cancer cells.

Matthew Paszek, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Cornell and Valerie Weaver, at the University of California, San Francisco, led the study on glycoprotein-induced cancer cell survival, published online in the journal Nature.

Researchers discovered that long glycoprotein chains--the coating found on the cells--could actually cause a cancer cell's membrane to push away from its environment and bend inward. This physical change resulted in adhesion receptors on the cell surface known as integrins to clump together and regulate the movement, change, and growth of the cell.

This clustering mechanism causes the integrins to alter the cell's normal signaling, leading to unchecked growth and survival.

"Changes to the sugar composition on the cell surface could alter physically how receptors are organized," Paszek said, in a news release. "That's really the big thing: coupling the regulation of the sugar coating to these biochemical signaling molecules."

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the paper, "The cancer glycocalyx mechanically primes integrin-mediated growth and survival."