Shedding light on cancer cellsSeptember 25, 2009Scientists label cells with coloured or glowing chemicals to observe how basic cellular activities differ between healthy and cancerous cells. Existing techniques for labelling cells are either too slow or too toxic to perform on live cells. Now, a study reviewed by Philip Dawson, a member of Faculty of 1000 Biology and leading authority in chemistry and cell biology, describes a novel labelling technique that uses a chemical reaction to make live cancer cells light up quickly and safely. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital developed a two-step process to specifically tag cancer cells. First, chemically modified antibodies home in on cancer cells. Then a chemical reaction called cycloaddition transfers a dye onto the antibody making the cancer cells glow when viewed through a microscope. The novel cycloaddition reaction is fast, very specific, and requires minimal manipulation of the cells. Dawson comments that, in combining antibody binding with the cycloaddition, "low signal-to-noise ratios are achieved". This new labelling technique could be used to track the location and activity of anti-cancer drugs, the location of cancer-specific proteins within the cell, or to visualize cancer cells inside a living organism. Dawson concludes that cycloaddition will allow scientists to observe live cancer cells in the body, leading to a better understanding of cancer's basic processes. Faculty of 1000: Biology and Medicine |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Cancer Cells Current Events and Cancer Cells News Articles 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. Barrow study identifies new way to biopsy brain tumors in real time A new miniature, hand-held microscope may allow more precise removal of brain tumors and an easier recognition of tumor locations during surgery. Coffee break: Compound brewing new research in colon, breast cancer A compound in coffee has been found to be estrogenic in studies by Texas AgriLife Research scientists. Newly Discovered Fat Molecule: An Undersea Killer with an Upside A chemical culprit responsible for the rapid, mysterious death of phytoplankton in the North Atlantic Ocean has been found by collaborating scientists at Rutgers University and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). This same chemical may hold unexpected promise in cancer research. More Cancer Cells Current Events and Cancer Cells News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||