(Press-News.org) UEA scientists make breast cancer advance that turns previous thinking on its head
Scientists at the University of East Anglia have made an advance in breast cancer research which shows how some enzymes released by cancerous cells could have a protective function.
New research published today in the Journal of Biological Chemistry reveals that an enzyme called MMP-8 (matrix metalloproteinase-8) could be acting as a locator to the immune system, which then becomes activated to attack tumours.
It was originally thought that the production of MMPs by breast cancer cells worked to promote cancer growth.
Lead researcher Prof Dylan Edwards from UEA's School of Biological Sciences said: "MMPs are a family of enzymes that are released from cancer cells. They were once thought to act like 'molecular scissors' to snip away at the scaffolding structures outside cells and clear a path for the cancer cells to invade and spread to other organs.
"Drugs that target this broad family of enzymes were trialled to treat cancer in the 1990s but largely failed. This led us to think that not all of these enzymes were bad guys that promoted tumour growth and spread."
Scientists from UEA worked with clinicians at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital to look in detail at the patterns of MMPs in breast tumours from patients. Previous research published in 2008 revealed that one of these enzymes, known as MMP-8, has a protective role which holds tumours in check. And patients whose breast tumours have more of this particular enzyme seemed to have better outcomes.
The latest research was funded by cancer charity the Big C and carried out by PhD student Sally Thirkettle.
Prof Edwards said: "She has shown that if she makes breast cancer cells produce MMP-8, it causes them to produce two other inflammatory factors (IL-6 and IL-8) that have previously been shown to promote cancer. However, breast tumour cells that over-produce MMP-8 don't survive long-term - the enzyme stops them growing."
"We now think that in tumours, MMP-8 acts as a sort of 'find me' signal to the immune system, which then becomes activated to attack the tumour, which may help to explain its protective function.
"The fact that a protective enzyme such as MMP-8 was also blocked by the first generation anti-MMP drugs used in the 1990s also partly explains why these drugs failed in the clinic," he added.
It is still unknown exactly how MMP-8 causes IL-6 and IL-8 to be activated - but the findings are an important step forward which will help direct further research.
###
'Matrix metalloproteinase-8 (collagenase-2) induces the expression of interleukins-6 and -8 in breast cancer cells' by Sally Thirkettle, Julie Decock, Hugh Arnold, Caroline J Pennington and Dylan R Edwards (all UEA, UK) and Diane M Jaworski (University of Vermont College of Medicine, US) is published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on May 24, 2013.
UEA scientists make breast cancer advance that turns previous thinking on its head
2013-05-24
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Giving blood donors a good reason to give
2013-05-24
Canada and other countries should reassess guidelines that prohibit offering economic incentives such as gift cards to potential blood donors, says a study from the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM).
"Blood donation guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and many blood collection agencies are largely based on research that assessed only what study participants said they would do – not their observed behaviour when donating blood," says Nicola Lacetera, Assistant Professor in UTM's Department of Management. "These are two very different things."
Using ...
Frontiers news briefs: May 23
2013-05-24
Frontiers in Plant Science
Automated conserved noncoding sequence (CNS) discovery reveals differences in gene content and promoter evolution among grasses
Within the genome of each species, there are thousands of stretches of DNA that undergo little change in position and sequence over millions of years, but do not code for any proteins. Some of these evolutionarily stable sequences, so-called conserved noncoding sequences (CNSs), are known to regulate the expression of other genes or the condensation of chromosomes, but the function of many CNSs remains unknown. Michael ...
Gold nanocrystal vibration captured on billion-frames-per-second film
2013-05-24
A billon-frames-per-second film has captured the vibrations of gold nanocrystals in stunning detail for the first time.
The film, which was made using 3D imaging pioneered at the London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) at UCL, reveals important information about the composition of gold. The findings are published in the journal Science.
Jesse Clark, from the LCN and lead author of the paper said: "Just as the sound quality of a musical instrument can provide great detail about its construction, so too can the vibrations seen in materials provide important information ...
King Richard III found in 'untidy lozenge-shaped grave'
2013-05-24
An academic paper on the archaeology of the Search for Richard III reveals for the first time specific details of the grave dug for King Richard III and discovered under a car park in Leicester.
University of Leicester archaeologists have published the first peer-reviewed paper on the University-led archaeological Search for Richard III in the prestigious journal Antiquity.
The paper reveals:
Richard III was casually placed in a badly prepared grave – suggesting gravediggers were in a hurry to bury him
He was placed in an 'odd position' and the torso crammed in
The ...
Statin use is linked to increased risk of developing diabetes, warn researchers
2013-05-24
Treatment with high potency statins (especially atorvastatin and simvastatin) may increase the risk of developing diabetes, suggests a paper published today on bmj.com.
Statins are among the most widely prescribed medications for the prevention of cardiovascular events. Although tolerated well, an association with new-onset diabetes has recently been suggested. One trial suggested a 27% increased risk of diabetes with rosuvastatin whereas another suggested patients taking pravastatin benefitted from a 30% lower risk.
As there is limited data on this subject, researchers ...
Consumers largely underestimating calorie content of fast food
2013-05-24
People eating at fast food restaurants largely underestimate the calorie content of meals, especially large ones, according to a paper published today on bmj.com.
From 2006 to 2010 many American states and cities passed laws requiring chain restaurants to print calorie content on menus. The US Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 included a provision that will require all restaurant chains with more than 20 US sites to print calorie content on menus.
Previous research has shown that adults and children underestimate calorie content often by large amounts. ...
Diabetes' genetic underpinnings can vary based on ethnic background, Stanford studies say
2013-05-24
STANFORD, Calif. - Ethnic background plays a surprisingly large role in how diabetes develops on a cellular level, according to two new studies led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
The researchers reanalyzed disease data to demonstrate that the physiological pathways to diabetes vary between Africa and East Asia and that those differences are reflected in part by genetic differences. The studies will be published online simultaneously May 23 in the journals PLoS Genetics and Diabetes Care.
"We have new insights into the differences in diabetes ...
Future doctors unaware of their obesity bias
2013-05-24
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., – May 23, 2013 – Two out of five medical students have an unconscious bias against obese people, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. The study is published online ahead of print in the Journal of Academic Medicine.
"Bias can affect clinical care and the doctor-patient relationship, and even a patient's willingness or desire to go see their physician, so it is crucial that we try to deal with any bias during medical school," said David Miller, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest Baptist ...
U Alberta teams with citizen researchers 370 light years from Earth
2013-05-24
(Edmonton) A University of Alberta physicist brought together back-yard astronomers and professionals to confirm the mysterious behaviour of two stars more than 300 light years from Earth.
U of A astrophysics researcher Gregory Sivakoff was part of an international team that re-examined an established theory about periodic bursts of light coming from a binary star.
The two stars are called a binary star because they rotate around each other. The accepted theory on why the binary star, named SS Cygni, emits periodic bursts of light involves an interaction between the ...
A quantum simulator for magnetic materials
2013-05-24
Physicists understand perfectly well why a fridge magnet sticks to certain metallic surfaces. But there are more exotic forms of magnetism whose properties remain unclear, despite decades of intense research. An important step towards filling these gaps comes now from Tilman Esslinger and his group at the Department of Physics. The team has developed a new kind of device that uses laser beams and atoms to emulate magnetic materials. Their approach promises fundamental insights beyond what can be obtained with current theoretical and computational methods. Moreover, the ...