Thank the plants...A novel method to treat cancer

Source: Science Daily

Hey guys… I just read this interesting article… here you go…

Researchers have found out a novel way to treating cancer in humans by performing experiments in plants.

Sounds funny? I’ll clear it in a jiffy.

Basically, they have found out how the plant hormone auxin interacts with the TIR1 receptor and this TIR1 receptor has structural similarities to human enzymes that have been implicated in cancer. This interaction could prove useful for scientists to develop drugs against these proteins.

TIR1 belongs to the family of ubiquitin ligases. These are required for regulation of cell growth and proliferation. It works by the process of ubiquitination. This process involves the addition of ubiquitin molecules onto proteins which in turns marks the protein to some altered function.

Researchers have for long been breaking their heads as to how to design a drug to counter these ubiquitin ligases. Now with this discovery, the road will be much clearer now.

Researchers now say that diseases like Parkinson’s disease, colon and breast cancer in which ubiquitin ligases have been playing a major role could be treated in a much better manner now that the method to tackle these ligases has been found.

A new connection between sugars and cancer

Source: Huliq.com

The second post for the day…

Researchers have found out new connection between sugars and cancers. Basically, a cell responds to stimuli with the help of receptors present on the surface. What the researchers at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute have found out is that these receptors are a combination of proteins and some sugars and that these sugars help in regulating the work of the receptor.

This also involves how long a receptor was available to interact with the external stimuli which are basically molecules like growth factors, etc…

Where does cancer come in the picture? When the sugars don’t do their job properly…

Now the researchers are trying to modify these sugars and finding out how it affects the function of these receptors. This could also provide a way of treating cancers by targeting these sugars using anti-receptor drugs.

A new protein that helps cells avoid cell death

Source: Science Daily

Long time no posts… I was kinda busy with my project work. So I’m actually trying to insert a few posts now to keep the blog active.

Ok…here we go… Researchers have found out a new protein called Dpo4 which helps a cell to avoid cell death allowing it to survive. But what happens here is this phenomenon could lead to cancer. Let me explain some basic concepts before proceeding further.

We know very well that DNA replication is a very important step in the process of cell division. Basically, the DNA of humans are double stranded. I’ll briefly explain you how DNA replication occurs.

The first thing that you should know is that the two strands of DNA are connected to each other by base pairs. There are four types of bases namely Adenine, Guanine, Thymine and Cytosine. Adenine binds only with thymine and Guanine binds only with Cytosine.

The first step is the splitting of DNA into two single strands. Then the replication step starts. Some enzymes are present which see what base is present in the single strand and place corresponding bases opposite to it and construct the other strand. So basically, the new DNA formed will have an old strand and a newly synthesised strand.

What happens now? Suppose because of some mutation, a base is missing in the strand. Normally, during such times, the repair work gets done and replication proceeds. In cases, where the mutation accumulates a lot, the cell commits suicide (Cell death).

This protein Dpo4 instead of allowing the cell to commit suicide, adds a base in front of the empty space of the old strand thus allowing the cell to bypass the damage and proceed with the replication process. When such errors are left unnoticed over a period of time, more mutations and more errors accumulate and the cell turns cancerous.

This is one of the latest interesting news that I read that I wanted to share it with you. Some more will follow pretty soon. Keep reading.

Researchers find out a novel method to prevent cancer metastasis

Source: science daily and www.vai.org

That’s right folks… this is an amazing breakthrough in the cancer research and will prove to be very useful or rather life saving for cancer patients.

Researchers at the Van Andel Institute have found out a protein called DIP which triggers “cell bubbling” and therefore metastasis.

For readers who are new to cancer research, here is a small bit of information. The term Metastasis is a phenomenon in which cancer cells that are initially formed at a particular region get loose and start spreading throughout the body.

Let’s come back… basically there is a protein called mDia2 which prevents tumour cell metastasis. Researches have found out that DIP interacts with mDia2 and causes the cell to bleb or bubble and thus cause metastasis.

mDia2 protein has been found to regulate the cell migration by regulating the formation of actin filaments. Hence when this protein is affected, metastasis is caused.

Researchers say that this research has thrown light onto the mechanisms involved in metastasis and that this line of research hasn’t been pursued before.

They also say that this could open up new avenues for finding out new type of drugs aimed at targeting such proteins.

Immune response to cancer stem cells may dictate cancer course

Source: Bio.com

I read this article in bio.com and found it interesting. So I thought of sharing it with you.

It is now known that mutations in the stem cells slowly accumulate as they divide and in the end develop into cancerous cells. Till now, researchers have been trying to trigger the immune system against the well developed tumour cells. But now, researchers at the Rockefeller University have found out that targeting the antigens of the cancer stem cells could provide a different result altogether.

The disease that they were analysing was MGUS (Monoclonal Gammopathy of Unknown Significance) which is a type of disease in which an abnormal amount of a particular antibody is produced. This disease is usually benign but in some rare cases, it was found to develop into multiple myeloma which is a cancer of blood plasma cells. It was during this time that they found that the response of the immune system to an embryonic stem cell protein SOX2 appeared to be protecting from the development of multiple myeloma.

From this analysis, the researchers have found out that the immune system reacts to a completely different set of antigens then it does when a full blown tumour is present. Hence they feel that if they can trigger the immune system to attack these “new” antigens, they could prevent cancer from becoming fully blown. But it is still confined to the lab and actual clinical testings have to be done. Hence this new type of therapy will take some time before it can come to a hospital near you.

My site in google

Hello everyone, finally my site has started coming in the first page of google when I typed my full name. This has given me a new identity. Check out the screen shot.

Obesity and cancer

Source: Science Daily

Researchers have found out that people who are obese and diagnosed with prostrate cancer have a greater chance to die because of it than a normal person having the same level of cancer.

Shocking? Same here!!!

I would like to type some more here but I think it will be best if you read what the scientist who pursued this research says:

"If a man is obese at the time of diagnosis, he faces a 2.6-fold greater risk of dying as compared to a normal-weight man with the same diagnostic profile, regardless of whether he has a radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy, whether or not he gets androgen-deprivation therapy, whether he has low- or high-grade disease and whether he has localized, regional or distant disease."

Prostatectomy is a surgical procedure where tissues of the prostate gland is removed. This is usually done to remove the tumour from the prostate gland.

And thats not all... In obese men, there is a 3.6 fold increased risk of metastasis ie... spreading of cancer to distant regions of the body, than in normal weight persons.

The reason or mechanism that relates obesity and cancer development that the researchers point out is the amount of growth factors and serum estrogens which could promote cancer growth.

Vitamin C and cancer

Source: Science Daily, Wikipedia, http://www.envtox.ucdavis.edu/CEHS/TOXINS/chromium6.htm


I'm sure you must be eagerly waiting to see what is the connection between Vitamin C and cancer. I won't make wait anymore. I'll jump into it straight away.

Researchers have found out that interaction between chromium 6 and Vitamin C inside the cells could trigger mutations and DNA damage thereby leading to cancer.

I think I'll type in something about chromium 6 and Vitamin C before proceeding to the news. Chromium is found in water, rocks and soils. It is also found in small traces in our food. It is usually found in two forms namely chromium 3 and chromium 6.

Chromium 3 is found more and it has some health benefits like metabolising sugars and participating in many enzyme reactions. Chromium 6 is the carcinogen.

Vitamin C is very important for our body because it acts as an anti-oxidant, preventing cells from undergoing free radical damage. Outside the cells, it is Vitamin C that converts chromium 6 to chromium 3 thereby preventing it from entering into the cells.

But what happens when there is an interaction between Vitamin C and Chromium 6 inside the cells?

Researchers worked on this and they found startling results. The activity of Vitamin C on Chromium 6 brought about heavy damage to the chromosome and DNA.  

And the thing is that even if chromium 6 is in trace amounts inside the body, it could give rise to such a tremendous reaction in the presence of Vitamin C.

The Chromium 6 issue came to light in the 1990s thanks to the movie "Erin Brockovich".

New antibodies towards cancer treatment

Source: huliq.com
             Wikipedia

My second post of the day... This is also very interesting.

Researchers are working on making antibodies to stimulate the immune system to attack cancer cells better. The antibodies they are using are monoclonal antibodies and their aim is to target these antibodies towards boosting boosting the immune system so that it will evoke a stronger response against cancer.

So...what are these monoclonal antibodies?

                                      Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies that are identical because they are produced by the same cell for a particular antigen. How is it done? Answer is invitro ie... in a lab. I'll elaborate on the significance of monoclonal antibodies.

Basically, in the body, antibodies are produced by the B cells for binding to the various epitopes of an antigen. Such an antibody mixture is called polyclonal antibody. Monoclonal antibodies are synthesised by removing the B cells from mouse for example which has already been exposed to the particular antigen so that it can produce the antibody. Invitro, these B cells cannot continuously produce antibodies since they cannot survive under invitro conditions. So inorder to make them produce indefinitely, they fuse the B cells with myeloma cells (cancerous B cells) so that they can produce the antibodies indefinitely. The fused cell is called a hybridoma cell.

Apart from boosting the immune system, researchers are also trying to tag radioactive isotopes so that the spread of cancer can be detected in the body.

One such antibody anti-CTLA-4 was used to treat melanoma in patients in 1999 and they found significant results (Reduction in tumour). Apart from this, some more monoclonal antibodies are being tested. Its results are not yet out but the researchers expect to get something positive from it.                            

Around 50 genes discovered which slows down cancer

Source: Science Daily

This article that was posted in science daily has a lot in common with what I'm working on...What I mean is that I deal with analysing all the possible aspects of cancer and its behaviour and this article deals with a part of it. So the following lines will have some points from my work as well. I may have missed explaining a few points here and there. So if you have any doubts, feel free to email me. If it is in my limits, I'll definitely help you out. This post according to me is very important if you want to about cancer mechanism.

It is a well known fact that cancer cells are not "normal cells".  The normal molecular mechanisms are disrupted or modified in a cancer cell. In a normal cell, signals are generated which provokes it to undergo proliferation and also to halt the same. But in a cancerous cell, the signals for inhibiting cell proliferation is disrupted. Hence, they keep on multiplying. You can say this as the basic concept behind a cancerous cell.

It is also an obvious fact that it is the gene that controls all the activities of a cell. Hence, researchers wanted to find out the genes that bring about the cell division inhibition so that in the future, the defects could be rectified and normalcy could be restored by gene therapy.

So the research started...

The signals which stimulate cell proliferation are the growth factors like Epidermal GF, Vascular Endothelial GF, etc... Non cancer readers... forgive me... just take these names as it is. Just consider them as some proteins helping in cell proliferation. (Actually they are!!!)

These GFs stimulate a host of other molecules in a cascade like fashion bringing about cell proliferation. Also, some genes are stimulated by certain other factors which bring about inhibiton of the same. To find out the genes, researchers collaborated with a lot of mathematicians, biologists, physicists, computer scientists, etc... to sieve through the enormous data that they had in their hands.

What they found out was that the phenomenon of cell division and its regulation takes place at different times. Initially,  genes are activated that bring about cell division, then after a few hours, certain other genes are activated which bring about its inhibition thereby we have a controlled growth.

The researchers found out that about 50 genes played a role in bringing about cell division inhibition. They found out that these genes produce proteins which hinder the cell proliferation.

I'll give you an example from my project analysis : We have a protein called cyclin D which forms a complex with another protein CDK and brings about cell proliferation. Another protein called P27 is also synthesised which binds to this CDK thereby preventing the complex formation. Hence cyclin D alone cannot do the job and thus cell proliferation is prevented.

The main aim of the research is to give tailor made therapies to the patients according to their genetic makeup so that the effect of the treatment will be good and also the side effects and associated problems can be prevented.