Researchers have identified a protein that causes cancer cells to proliferate and survive. Ultimately, their research could help lead to cancer treatments without side effects.
In 2018, 8.1 million people were diagnosed with cancer worldwide, according to estimates from the World Cancer Report 2018. That same year, 9.6 million deaths from cancer were recorded.
Faced with the magnitude of the phenomenon, researchers are trying to develop different treatments, hoping to limit the side effects as much as possible. Because depending on the cancer and the type of treatment, the patient may, for example, suffer from anemia, loss of appetite, bleeding, constipation, delirium, diarrhea, fatigue, hair loss or bladder or sexual problems.
The discovery of a protein that could change everything
But new work could eventually change the situation for the millions of patients around the world. According to a study published in the Journal of Biological ChemistryAmerican researchers have succeeded in identifying a protein leading to the proliferation and survival of cancer cells.
Researchers from the University of Oregon, University of Central Florida and New York University discovered this change while studying neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), which is characterized by the development of tumors of the nervous system called schwannomas. Here, researchers observed that schwannoma cells produce an oxidizing and nitrating agent, peroxynitrite, which changes an amino acid called tyrosine into proteins. This process reproduces tumor cells in the metabolism which then proliferate.
“The characteristic of tumor cells is their uncontrolled growth”, explains Maria Clara Franco, professor of biochemistry and biophysics, co-author of the study. She continues, “To support persistent growth, tumor cells alter the way they produce energy and building blocks and exhibit a characteristic metabolic phenotype that differs from that of normal cells.”
Peroxynitrite, much less present in healthy tissues
“We have discovered that peroxynitrite, the most powerful oxidant produced by cells, controls the metabolic changes that occur in tumor cells of the nervous system and promotes their growth. We believe that there are specific proteins which, when become nitrated, acquire a new function that they did not have before, and this new function can control tumor growth”, she develops.
Thus, peroxynitrite is not produced at such high levels in healthy tissue. This study “opens up the exciting possibility of targeting the production of peroxynitrites exclusively in tumor cells to develop a new therapeutic strategy to treat tumors of the nervous system, with minimal or no side effects on normal tissues”, therefore welcomes Franco.
“This finding may have wider implications”
And to conclude: “We are discovering a whole new class of targets for the treatment of solid tumors, and not only tumors of the nervous system. This discovery could have broader implications for treating several types of cancer. We can target the proteins that are generally not altered in normal cells; we can target the altered proteins with inhibitors that do not affect normal cells, hoping to develop a treatment with minimal side effects.”
NF2 is a rare disease that affects approximately 1 in 40,000 people. It is characterized by acoustic nerve neuromas and multiple tumors of the central nervous system, meningiomas, gliomas, ependymomas and schwannomas. Previous research on this pathology discovered a genetic anomaly present on chromosome 22. According to the National Union of Ophthalmologists of France, most of the cases correspond to recent mutations. Finally, patients suffer from schwannomas on the auditory nerves, most often related to central neurological tumors.
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