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Colorful spy tactics track live cells supporting cancerous tumors
September 17, 2008New real-time imaging technique captures cell movements in mouse model of breast cancer
A new advance in cellular imaging is allowing scientists to better understand the movement of cells in the area around tumors, also known as the tumor microenvironment. In a recent article published in Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM), dmm.biologists.org, Zena Werb and colleagues used optimized methods of laser microscopy to track the movement of live cells in a mouse model of breast cancer.
As a tumor grows, it triggers immune responses in the body, and recruits assistance from normal cells in order to "feed" and support the spread of the cancerous growth. The influence of the tumor on nearby cells is dependent on the microenvironment surrounding the tumor. Some immune cells and structural proteins defend the body against the tumor, while others help the tumor grow and spread.
In order to watch the activity of these cells, researchers injected fluorescent dyes near tumors in mouse models of breast cancer which also expressed fluorescently tagged cells A specially designed microscope allowed live imaging of tumor-associated cells for more than 12 hours, while retaining the high resolution necessary to watch individual cells move in real-time. They saw that subsets of immune cells move differently - some migrate along blood vessels, while others remain at the border of the tumor. Additionally, changes in the tumor microenvironment, such as a reduction of oxygen, caused some immune cells to stop migrating.
This study sheds light on how certain immune cells help or hinder tumor growth. This in turn aids in identifying drug targets which can be inhibited to prevent the spread of cancer, or conversely, targets which can be stimulated to enhance the body's natural immune response to cancer. Additionally, this new imaging technique has potential beyond studying cancer, such as watching cell movement in other tissues and organs, both diseased and healthy.
The Company of Biologists
In order to watch the activity of these cells, researchers injected fluorescent dyes near tumors in mouse models of breast cancer which also expressed fluorescently tagged cells A specially designed microscope allowed live imaging of tumor-associated cells for more than 12 hours, while retaining the high resolution necessary to watch individual cells move in real-time. They saw that subsets of immune cells move differently - some migrate along blood vessels, while others remain at the border of the tumor. Additionally, changes in the tumor microenvironment, such as a reduction of oxygen, caused some immune cells to stop migrating.
This study sheds light on how certain immune cells help or hinder tumor growth. This in turn aids in identifying drug targets which can be inhibited to prevent the spread of cancer, or conversely, targets which can be stimulated to enhance the body's natural immune response to cancer. Additionally, this new imaging technique has potential beyond studying cancer, such as watching cell movement in other tissues and organs, both diseased and healthy.
The Company of Biologists
Microenvironment Current Events and Microenvironment News RSSNew mechanism explains how the body prevents formation of blood vessels
Researchers at Uppsala University, in collaboration with colleagues in Sweden and abroad, have identified an entirely new mechanism by which a specific protein in the body inhibits formation of new blood vessels.
Inhibitor of heat shock protein is a potential anticancer drug, Penn study finds
Like yoga for office drones, cells do have coping strategies for stress. Heat, lack of nutrients, oxygen radicals - all can wreak havoc on the delicate internal components of a cell, potentially damaging it beyond repair.
URI research couple's method targets cancerous tumors
Two University of Rhode Island associate professors, biophysicists Yana Reshetnyak and Oleg Andreev, have discovered a technology that can detect cancerous tumors and deliver treatment to them without the harming the healthy cells surrounding them, thereby significantly reducing side effects.
Small mechanical forces have big impact on embryonic stem cells
Applying a small mechanical force to embryonic stem cells could be a new way of coaxing them into a specific direction of differentiation, researchers at the University of Illinois report. Applications for force-directed cell differentiation include therapeutic cloning and regenerative medicine.
UCSD researchers pave the way for effective liver treatments
A combination of bioengineering and medical research at the University of California, San Diego has led to a new discovery that could pave the way for more effective treatments for liver disease.
Penn State College of Medicine research isolates liver cancer stem cells prior to tumor formation
Penn State College of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Southern California, have taken an important step in understanding the role of stem cells in development of liver cancer.
Reactive Oxygen's Role in Metastasis
Researchers at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have discovered that reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, play a key role in forming invadopodia, cellular protrusions implicated in cancer cell migration and tumor metastasis.
Blood-flow metabolism mismatch predicts pancreatic tumor aggressiveness
Researchers from Turku, Finland, have identified a blood-flow glucose consumption mismatch that predicted pancreatic tumor aggressiveness, according to results of a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Einstein researchers identify potential target for metastatic cancer
The deadliest part of the cancer process, metastasis, appears to rely on help from macrophages, potent immune system cells that usually defend vigorously against disease, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University report.
Trojan horse for ovarian cancer -- nanoparticles turn immune system soldiers against tumor cells
In a feat of trickery, Dartmouth Medical School immunologists have devised a Trojan horse to help overcome ovarian cancer, unleashing a surprise killer in the surroundings of a hard-to-treat tumor.
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Micro- and Nanoengineering of the Cell Microenvironment, Technologies and Applications (Engineering in Medicine & Biology) by Ali Khademhosseini (Editor) Emerging cell-based technologies have brought us to the brink of incredible biomedical advances like artificial skin and organ tissue generation. This state-of-the-art work brings bioengineers to the cutting edge of the micro and nanotechnologies involved. It covers the latest microfabrication and material synthesis developments that are paving the way to a whole new generation of diagnostic and therapeutic tools. Written by a "who's who" of pioneers in the field, the volume covers groundbreaking advances in microfluidic devices, surface patterning, 3D scaffolds, and techniques for engineering cellular mechanical properties and topography. The book systematically reviews emerging applications, including assisted fertilization and the bioengineering of neural, vascular, cardiac, cartilage,... |
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Regulation of Gene Expression in the Tumor Environment: Regulation of melanoma progression by the microenvironment: the roles of PAR-1 and PAFR (The Tumor Microenvironment) by Menashe Bar-Eli (Author), Menashe Bar-Eli (Editor) It is now becoming very clear that the development and progression of tumor towards the malignant (metastatic) phenotype depends tightly on the interaction between the tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment. Tumor cells respond to stimuli generated within the tumor microenvironment for their growth advantage while the tumor cell themselves reshape and remodel the architecture and function of their extracellular matrices. The term tumor microenvironment is a wide umbrella consisting of stromal cells such as fibroblasts and endothelial cells and infiltration immune cells including T and B cells, macrophages, and other inflammatory cells (PMNs). These different components of the tumor microenvironment could have stimulatory and inhibitory effects on tumor progression by regulating the... |
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Cancer Microenvironment and Therapeutic Implications: Tumor Pathophysiology Mechanisms and Therapeutic Strategies by Gianfranco Baronzio (Editor), Giammaria Fiorentini (Editor), Christopher R. Cogle (Editor) In the post-genomic era, cancer is a genetic disease. However, cancer genotype does not always equal cancer phenotype. Cancers with the same genetic abnormalities don’t always behave the same. Understanding and eradicating cancers will require an appreciation for cancer’s ecology. This book is the first to comprehensively explore and critically appraise cancer microenvironments and host interactions with an eye towards exploiting our understanding for new treatments. The team of contributors share amongst them impressive experiences at the laboratory bench and in the clinic. These physician-scientists have dedicated themselves to the tension between the urgency for cures and the technical challenges of discovery. The target audience includes clinical oncologists,... |
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Innate and Adaptive Immunity in the Tumor Microenvironment (The Tumor Microenvironment) by Eitan Yefenof (Author), Eitan Yefenof (Editor) Cancer cells are continuously interacting with the immune system of the host. These interactions can be regarded as a double edged sword. On the one hand, innate and adaptive immune responses act to protect the host by attempting rejection of the tumor. On the other hand, inflammatory cells and proteins stimulate multiplication and dissemination of cancer cells, thereby accelerating the progression of the disease. Traditionally, the interplay between cancer cells and host immunity has been studied systemically, with no particular attention to the site at which a given tumor develops. Recent studies, however, indicate that the tumor microenvironment is unique in providing both supportive and inhibitory factors that determine the fate of the tumor and its host. Accordingly,... |
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Nitrogen transformations in microenvironments of river beds and riparian zones [An article from: Ecological Engineering] by N.P. Revsbech (Author), J.P. Jacobsen (Author), L.P. Nielsen (Author) This digital document is a journal article from Ecological Engineering, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser. Description: The soil of flooded riparian zones, the rhizosphere of riparian plants, biofilms at solid surfaces in the river, and the surface layer of sediments all constitute important environments for the oxidative or reductive transformations of inorganic nitrogen compounds. The exact microzonation and coupling of the processes have recently been studied intensively with ^1^5N enrichment methods and microsensors for NH"4^+, NO"2^-, NO"3^-, and N"2O. Microsensor analyses of gradients in sediments and biofilms have shown... |
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The Neuronal Microenvironment (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences) by Helen F. Cserr (Editor) | |
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