Researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive CancerCenter have identified a specific molecule that alters how breast cancer cells move. This affects the cells' ability to spread ormetastasize to distant parts of the body, the hallmark of deadly,aggressive cancer . By looking at cells in the lab, in mice and in human tissue, aswell as developing a mathematical model to predict cell movement,researchers found that the p38-gamma molecule controlled howquickly and easily a cancer cell moved. When p38-gamma wasinactivated, cells flattened out and changed from fast motion to anineffective movement. "Normal motion is commonly seen in aggressive cancers, which is whyit's very important to understand what the key switches are forthis motion," says lead study author Sofia Merajver, M.D., Ph.D.,scientific director of the breast oncology program at the U-MComprehensive Cancer Center. Results of the study appear online in Cancer Research. Merajver's previous work found that the cancer gene RhoC promotesaggressive metastasis. In this research, her team followed thepathway back to see what controls the cells to make them soaggressive. They identified the p38 molecule, which has severaldifferent types, and found in particular p38-gamma is highlyexpressed in aggressive breast cancer. The researchers modified the cells so that they inhibited p38-gammain cell cultures and discovered the changes in shape and motion.Collaborators in the U-M College of Engineering, Ellen M. Arruda,Krishna Garikipati and their team, then developed a mathematicalmodel to show how these changes would impact cell motion. The modelpredicted exactly what the researchers observed in the cellcultures. "This gives us a more complete understanding of how aggressivebreast cancer cells move and the influence of p38-gamma inparticular on modifying this motion," says Merajver, professor ofinternal medicine at the U-M Medical School. "Cell movement is verydifficult to observe, which is why mathematical modeling inoncology is valuable." Merajver hopes this model, which can be applied to other cancertypes, will improve understanding of how cells move, allowingresearchers to plan better experiments to look at this function. Identifying p38-gamma's role in breast cancer provides a strongtarget for potential new therapies, the researchers say. Theybelieve it will be possible to develop a drug that targets onlyp38-gamma without affecting other pathways, which would make itmore tolerable for patients. "We do have targeted therapies in the clinic, but the total burdenof disease that they ameliorate is still relatively minimal. Thereasons may not necessarily be that they are not good drugs, butsimply that we don't understand how they work, because we don'tunderstand the biology in sufficient detail. That's why studieslike this are so important in advancing drug development," Merajversays. Breast cancer statistics: 209,060 Americans will be diagnosed withbreast cancer this year and 40,230 will die from the disease,according to the American Cancer Society Additional References Citations. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as ND YAG Laser Tattoo Removal Machine Manufacturer , Yag Laser Hair Removal Machine Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit E-Light Laser Hair Removal today!
Related Articles -
ND YAG Laser Tattoo Removal Machine Manufacturer, Yag Laser Hair Removal Machine Manufacturer,
|