PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Piggy-backing proteins ride white blood cells to wipe out metastasizing cancer

2014-01-07
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Melissa Osgood
mmo59@cornell.edu
607-255-2059
Cornell University
Piggy-backing proteins ride white blood cells to wipe out metastasizing cancer ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell biomedical engineers have discovered a new way to destroy metastasizing cancer cells traveling through the bloodstream – lethal invaders that are linked to almost all cancer deaths – by hitching cancer-killing proteins along for a ride on life-saving white blood cells.

"These circulating cancer cells are doomed," said Michael King, Cornell professor of biomedical engineering and the study's senior author. "About 90 percent of cancer deaths are related to metastases, but now we've found a way to dispatch an army of killer white blood cells that cause apoptosis – the cancer cell's own death – obliterating them from the bloodstream. When surrounded by these guys, it becomes nearly impossible for the cancer cell to escape."

Metastasis is the spread of a cancer cells to other parts of the body. Surgery and radiation are effective at treating primary tumors, but difficulty in detecting metastatic cancer cells has made treatment of the spreading cancers problematic, say the scientists.

King and his colleagues injected human blood samples, and later mice, with two proteins: E-selectin (an adhesive) and TRAIL (Tumor Necrosis Factor Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand). The TRAIL protein joined with the E-selectin protein was able to stick to leukocytes – white blood cells – abundant in the bloodstream. When a cancer cell comes into contact with TRAIL, which is nearly unavoidable in the frenzied flow of blood, the cancer cell essentially kills itself.

"The mechanism is surprising and unexpected in that this repurposing of white blood cells in flowing blood is more effective than directly targeting the cancer cells with liposomes or soluble protein," say the authors.

In the laboratory, King and his colleagues tested this concept's efficacy.

When treating cancer cells with the proteins in saline, they found a 60 percent success rate in killing the cancer cells. In normal laboratory conditions, the saline lacks white blood cells to serve as a carrier for the adhesive and killer proteins. Once the proteins were added to flowing blood that mimicked human-body conditions, however, the success rate in killing the cancer cells jumped to nearly 100 percent.

The study, "TRAIL-Coated Leukocytes that Kill Cancer Cells in the Circulation," was published online today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

###

The National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health funded the research through Cornell's Center for the Microenvironment and Metastasis.

Cornell University has television, ISDN and dedicated Skype/Google+ Hangout studios available for media interviews.

Media note: Graphics, photos and videos are available at https://cornell.box.com/Protein

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Brief fever common in kids given influenza, pneumococcal vaccines together

2014-01-07
Brief fever common in kids given influenza, pneumococcal vaccines together Findings suggest utility of text messaging to monitor safety NEW YORK, NY (Jan. 6, 2014) – Giving young children the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines together appears ...

Breastfeeding associated with lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis, according to new study

2014-01-07
Breastfeeding associated with lower risk of rheumatoid arthritis, according to new study In a new study of over 7,000 older Chinese women published online today in the journal Rheumatology, breastfeeding – especially for a longer duration – is shown to be associated ...

No 'brakes' -- Study finds mechanism for increased activity of oncogene in certain cancers

2014-01-07
No 'brakes' -- Study finds mechanism for increased activity of oncogene in certain cancers PITTSBURGH, Jan. 6, 2014 – The increased activation of a key oncogene in head and neck cancers could be the result of mutation and dysfunction of regulatory ...

'Ardi' skull reveals links to human lineage

2014-01-07
'Ardi' skull reveals links to human lineage The new work expands the catalogue of anatomical similarities linking humans, Australopithecus, and Ardipithecus on the tree of life TEMPE, Ariz.—One of the most hotly debated issues in current human origins research focuses on ...

Suburban sprawl cancels carbon footprint savings of dense urban cores

2014-01-07
Suburban sprawl cancels carbon footprint savings of dense urban cores Interactive maps of US metro areas shows striking differences between cities and suburbs According to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, population-dense ...

UW-Madison researchers link protein with breast cancer's spread to the brain

2014-01-07
UW-Madison researchers link protein with breast cancer's spread to the brain MADISON—A cancer-research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has identified a protein that may be a major culprit when breast cancer metastasizes to the brain. Brain ...

When danger is in the eye of the beholder

2014-01-07
When danger is in the eye of the beholder UCLA anthropologists study how, why we read into potential peril They went boating alone without life vests and gave no thought to shimmying up very tall coconut trees. And although they were only ...

Novel 'attract-and-kill' approach could help tackle Argentine ants

2014-01-07
Novel 'attract-and-kill' approach could help tackle Argentine ants UC Riverside entomologists devise a technique that involves mixing a synthetic pheromone in insecticide sprays RIVERSIDE, Calif. — After being inadvertently introduced in the United States ...

RAMBO a small but powerful magnet

2014-01-07
RAMBO a small but powerful magnet Rice University system allows high-magnetic-field experiments on a tabletop HOUSTON – (Jan. 6, 2014) – Rice University scientists have pioneered a tabletop magnetic pulse generator that does the work of a room-sized machine – and more. The ...

Discovery spotlights key role of mystery RNA modification in cells

2014-01-07
Discovery spotlights key role of mystery RNA modification in cells Researchers had known for several decades that a certain chemical modification exists on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), which is essential to the flow of genetic information. But only recently ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages

In pancreatic cancer, a race against time

Targeting FGFR2 may prevent or delay some KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancers

[Press-News.org] Piggy-backing proteins ride white blood cells to wipe out metastasizing cancer