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Researchers in Heidelberg discover new protein that is suppressed in particularly aggressive cancer cell.
If cancer cells lack a certain protein, it could be much easier for
them to penetrate healthy body tissue, the first step towards forming
metastases.
Scientists at the Pharmacology Institute of the University
of Heidelberg have discovered the previously unknown cell signal factor
SCAI (suppressor of cancer cell invasion), which inhibits the movement
and spread of tumor cells in laboratory tests. When the factor’s
functioning was disrupted, the cancer cells moved much more effectively
in what are known as three-dimensional matrix systems, which imitate
some of the tissue properties of the human body.
“The protein is apparently suppressed in many types of tumors, e.g.
breast, lung, or thyroid,” explains Dr. Robert Grosse, head of the Emmy
Noether Junior Research Group funded by the German Research Association
(DFG) at the Pharmacology Institute. The new factor could be an
interesting starting point for research into new mechanisms for
fighting cancer. The research team’s results have now been published
online in the prestigious international journal Nature Cell Biology.
Focus on particularly aggressive cancers
Tumor cells are extremely mobile and “adept” at penetrating healthy
tissue to form metastases. They adapt to the consistency of the
respective tissue by changing their shapes constantly and attach
flexibly to surrounding tissues during movement with the help of
special surface structures (receptors).
One of these receptors is what is known as b1-integrin, which is
frequently formed in many tumors such as metastasizing breast cancer.
“The cell signal factor SCAI controls the formation and function of
b1-integrin,” says Dr. Robert Grosse. “If there is too little SCAI in
tumor cells, then b1-integrin is overactive, so to speak. The cell can
change more rapidly to a more aggressive form and penetrate surrounding
tissue, a crucial step toward increased spreading of the tumor and the
possible formation of metastases.”
In their recently published study, the Heidelberg researchers
examined cells from skin cancer (melanoma) and breast cancer. In other
projects, Dr. Robert Grosse’s team would like to study the function of
the signal factor SCAI more closely in an animal model. “If the
function of SCAI is confirmed to be decisive in the formation of
especially aggressive tumor cells, this could be a promising starting
point for developing new diagnostic methods or medication,” says the
pharmacologist. It could also be possible to develop an agent that
prevents the genetic suppression of the signal factor in cancer cells.
But first the researchers need to better understand how the signal
factor itself is regulated in the cell.
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