Mayo Clinic researchers discover cancer cells may move via wave stimulationApril 03, 2006Finding helps understand cancer cell metastasis ROCHESTER, Minn. - Mayo Clinic researchers have uncovered a new cellular secret that may explain how certain cancers move and spread - a feature of cancers that makes treatment especially difficult. If the mechanism that drives cancer movement - also called metastasis - can be understood well enough to manipulate it, new and better treatments can be developed for patients with metastatic cancers. Significance of the Mayo Clinic Research The Mayo researchers focused on odd protrusions observable by microscope on the surface of certain cancer cells: circular waves. Until now, no one has fully understood the function of these waves. The Mayo findings in the current edition of Cancer Research http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/current.shtml are the first to show one role the waves play. They selectively round up activated growth-promoting proteins from the cell surface and take them to the interior of the cell. Under normal conditions, this process would help terminate signals from these growth-promoting proteins. However, in cancer cells it appears that either these waves may not function properly, or that the internalized proteins may remain active longer, which allows them to "instruct" a cell to acquire cancerous traits such as excessive growth and invasive movement that constitute metastasis. These waves are important for helping to keep these cancer-growth commands at bay. Studying human pancreatic tumor cells, the Mayo researchers found that the waves store up to half the activated Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors (EGFR) from the surface of the cell and take this cache to the interior of the cells. This is important for understanding cancer because aberrant activation of EGFR can promote the excessive growth typical of cancers. "These findings have broad implications toward the general understanding of how specific processes in the wave may affect such things as cell growth, cell movement and metastasis," explains Mark McNiven, Ph.D., the lead researcher on the Mayo Clinic team. "Our work provides new insights into a novel mechanism by which cells can internalize growth factor information. Understanding this process is the first step toward one day halting it, preventing it or reversing it therapeutically." Why Movement Matters Cell growth and movement are vital topics in cancer research because cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in which the normal balance between growth promotion and growth inhibition is disrupted. Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) and the EGFR to which it homes and docks are a hot topic in cancer research because EGF promotes growth through binding and activating its receptor and certain tumors exhibit elevated levels of EGFR. In addition, activated EGFR have been implicated in the development and spread of several human cancers, including cancers of the colon, ovary, breast and lung. Wave Basics Waves are circular ruffled surface structures on the exterior plasma membrane of a cell that can be observed through a conventional light microscope. They form in response to stimulation from EGF and exist for 10 to 20 minutes before disappearing. Waves intrigue researchers because wave-based internalization of activated EGFR to the interior of the cell was a previously unknown mechanism. The wave pathway appears to be a parallel pathway vital for transmitting and regulating normal cellular communication. Waves occur less often in certain tumor cells, indicating they may play a role in modulating or terminating cancer-promoting signals. Persistent cancer-promoting signals in cells lacking waves could subsequently allow them to be more motile and invasive. Waves also are important for cell movement - at least in normal cells - by actively reorganizing some of the cellular infrastructure at the leading edge of a cell allowing the cell to form a pliable footlike structure (lamellipodia). Previous work by this Mayo Clinic team was the first to correlate the formation of lamellipodia with wave-induced reorganization within a cell. Mayo Clinic |
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| Related Cancer Cells Current Events and Cancer Cells News Articles Researchers Identify Role of Gene in Tumor Development, Growth and Progression Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine researchers have identified a gene that may play a pivotal role in two processes that are essential for tumor development, growth and progression to metastasis. Cancer metabolism discovery uncovers new role of IDH1 gene mutation in brain cancer Agios Pharmaceuticals today announced that its scientists have established, for the first time, that the mutated IDH1 gene has a novel enzyme activity consistent with a cancer-causing gene, or oncogene. New cancer target for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered a molecular mechanism that may prove to be a powerful target for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects lymphocytes, or white blood cells. Common pain relief medication may encourage cancer growth Although morphine has been the gold-standard treatment for postoperative and chronic cancer pain for two centuries, a growing body of evidence is showing that opiate-based painkillers can stimulate the growth and spread of cancer cells. Cancers' Sweet Tooth May Be Weakness The pedal-to-the-metal signals driving the growth of several types of cancer cells lead to a common switch governing the use of glucose, researchers at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University have discovered. UCLA researchers create 'fly paper' to capture circulating cancer cells Just as fly paper captures insects, an innovative new device with nano-sized features developed by researchers at UCLA is able to grab cancer cells in the blood that have broken off from a tumor. Paradoxical protein might prevent cancer One difficulty with fighting cancer cells is that they are similar in many respects to the body's stem cells. By focusing on the differences, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found a new way of tackling colon cancer. The study is presented in the prestigious journal Cell. Cornell researchers identify a weak link in cancer cell armor The seeming invincibility of cancerous tumors may be crumbling, thanks to a promising new gene therapy that eliminates the ability of certain cells to repair themselves. Aileron collaborates study in Nature: Stapled peptides inhibit Notch1 transcription factor This research validates the potential for Stapled Peptides to modulate key intracellular biological targets, such as transcription factors, that have not been addressable with current small molecule or biologic drug modalities. Researchers 'notch' a victory toward new kind of cancer drug Scientists have devised an innovative way to disarm a key protein considered to be "undruggable," meaning that all previous efforts to develop a drug against it have failed. More Cancer Cells Current Events and Cancer Cells News Articles |
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