Brake for metastases

The blocker molecule deprives cancer of the ability to metastasize

LifeSciencesToday based on materials from Imperial College London: 'Silencer molecules' switch off cancer's ability to spread around body

The discovery made by scientists from Imperial College London, published in the journal EMBO Reports (Pardo et al., miR-515-5p controls cancer cell migration through MARK4 regulation), can help in the development of drugs that prevent metastasis, or create a test that allows doctors to find out how likely this process is.

During the development of a tumor, cancer cells can break away from it and spread through the body with blood or lymph – a process known as metastasis.

Patients with metastatic tumors, as a rule, have a worse prognosis, explains the head of the study, Professor Justin Stebbing (Justin Stebbing). "The ability of cancer to spread through the body has a great impact on patient survival. However, as to why some types of cancers metastasize while others do not, today we are still in the dark. Our research provides important information about this process."

By studying breast and lung cancer cells, the researchers found that the MARK4 protein provides cells with the ability to break away from the tumor and migrate to other parts of the body, for example, to the brain or liver. Although there is no complete understanding of how this happens yet, one of the assumptions is that MARK4 affects the cytoskeleton, making it easier for cells to move around the body.

In addition, miR-515-5p microRNA has been found to help block the gene encoding the MARK4 protein.

This ability of miR-515-5p was discovered on human breast and lung cancer cells, and then confirmed in mouse models. As it turned out, increasing the levels of miR-515-5p prevents the spread of cancer cells. In addition, small amounts of this blocker molecule are present in already metastasized human tumors.

  Diagram from an article in EMBO Reports – VM 

Researchers have identified a lower survival rate for breast and lung cancer patients whose tumors contain low levels of the blocker molecule - or high levels of MARK4.

Now scientists are studying whether it is possible to target the MARK4 protein gene or a molecule that blocks its expression, and whether it is possible to create a test to determine the predisposition of a tumor to metastasis.

"In our work, we have shown that this blocker molecule plays an important role in the spread of cancer. The study is at an early stage, and there is still a lot to learn about this molecule, in particular, whether it is present in other types of cancer," continues Professor Stabbing.

"Our work has shown that MARK4 allows breast and lung cancer cells to both divide and metastasize to other parts of the body. These discoveries can have a big impact on the treatment of breast and lung cancer – the culprits of the largest number of cancer deaths worldwide," adds the first author of the study, Dr. Olivier Pardo.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  24.03.2016