(Press-News.org) DURHAM, N.C. -- Scientists now know that some cancer cells spread, or metastasize, throughout the body the old-fashioned way -- by using their feet. But researchers at Duke Cancer Institute have discovered a way to short-circuit their travels by preventing the development of these feet, called invadopodia. This discovery is even more important because preventing the development of these "feet" also eliminates the action of proteins present in the feet that burn through intact tissue and let cancer cells enter new cells.
The results could yield a treatment to prevent the spread of cancer, which would be taken in combination with a treatment that kills the cancer cells, said Ann Marie Pendergast, Ph.D., senior author and James B. Duke Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke. "A combination like this would be more effective than either treatment given alone."
"This is the first time anyone has identified the Abl family of protein kinases (comprising two proteins, Abl and Arg) as critical regulators of invadopodia structures," Pendergast said. "This has never been seen before."
The study was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry on Dec. 17.
The team found that the Abl and Arg kinases are required not only for the formation and function of the invadopodia, but also that these kinases are found within these structures. "Thus, if we can find a way to block the kinases, we'll find a way to keep the feet from forming correctly and will keep the cells from moving," Pendergast said.
The researchers also made a new connection between these Abl and Arg kinases and the regulation of a Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP) that is very important in cancer invasion and metastasis. "When you lose the functions of the Abl and Arg kinases, you also lose the function of the MMP proteins, which 'chew' through the matrix surrounding cells and tissues," Pendergast said. The MMP proteins can create openings for cancerous cells to escape through on their way to becoming a metastasis, she said.
The studies began because the researchers knew that Abl kinases can directly connect with actin, a filament-like protein that cells use to move. These kinases also seem to target a number of actin-regulatory proteins that are found in invadopodia, "so we thought it might be interesting to see what would happen if we blocked the activity of these kinases," Pendergast said. "We expected a mild effect, but were surprised by the striking effect we saw."
Using fluorescent proteins for imaging purposes, the team observed that when the kinase activity was blocked, the cancer cell "feet" then disappeared as well.
Pendergast said the pharmacologic agents used to block the Abl kinases are FDA-approved for use in leukemia (imatinib), which means it may not be hard to win their approval for new applications.
INFORMATION:
Other authors include Pameeka Smith-Pearson and Emileigh K. Greuber of the Duke Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology and Gouri Yogalingam, formerly of Duke, who is now at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
The work is supported by the American Cancer Society New England Division-Spin Odyssey Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Molecular Cancer Biology Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Grant, a PhRMA Predoctoral Fellowship, and the National Institutes of Health.
Blocking the critical structure that lets cancer cells move -- their feet
2010-12-17
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Report: Policies to spur renewable energy can lower energy costs
2010-12-17
The South could pay less for its electricity in 20 years than is currently projected if strong public policies are enacted to spur renewable energy production and use, according to a report released today by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Duke University. The 190-page report, "Renewable Energy in the South," builds on a short policy brief released last summer and provides an in-depth assessment of the scope of renewable energy resources in the South and their economic impacts on electricity rates and utility bills in the region.
Skeptics of renewable ...
Kids got the blues? Maybe they don't have enough friends
2010-12-17
Montreal, December 16, 2010 – Friendless kids can become social outcasts who risk spiraling into depression by adolescence, according to new research from Concordia University, Florida Atlantic University and the University of Vermont. Yet for most shy and withdrawn children, the study reports in the journal Development and Psychopathology, friends can be a form of protection against sadness.
"The long-term effects of being a withdrawn child are enduringly negative," says lead author William M. Bukowski, a psychology professor and director of the Concordia Centre for ...
Evidence suggests e-cigs safer than cigarettes, researcher claims
2010-12-17
In a new report that bucks the concerns raised by the Food and Drug Administration, a Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) (sph.bu.edu) researcher concludes that electronic cigarettes are much safer than real cigarettes and show promise in the fight against tobacco-related diseases and death.
The review, which will be published online ahead of print this month in the Journal of Public Health Policy, is the first to comprehensively examine scientific evidence about the safety and effectiveness of electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, said Michael ...
Films for façades
2010-12-17
Films instead of walls. This is an idea that fascinates architects all over the world. The Eden Project in Southern England, the National Aquatics Center built for swimming events at the Olympics in Beijing and the Allianz Arena in Munich are only three examples of what you can make from plastic sheets. Ethylene tetraflourethylene (ETFE), a transparent membrane, is especially popular because it enables buildings that shine in all colors as in Munich and Peking. But, we are not just talking about colors. You can use this new foil for an intelligent improvement of existing ...
Scientists identify the largest network of protein interactions related to Alzheimer's disease
2010-12-17
Through a complex analysis of protein interactions, researchers from IRB Barcelona and the Joint Programme IRB-BSC have discovered new molecular mechanisms that may be involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease. The study, a collaboration between bioinformaticians and cell biologists, was led by IRB Barcelona group leader and ICREA researcher Patrick Aloy and appears today in the Genome Research, a reference journal in the field of genomics.
Alzheimer's disease is an age-related neurodegenerative disease. Despite the considerable efforts made in recent years to ...
It's a pain to take care of pain
2010-12-17
INDIANAPOLIS –While many studies have looked at the treatment of chronic pain from the patient's perspective, there has been little research on those who provide care for chronic pain.
In a study in the November 2010 issue of the journal Pain Medicine, researchers from the Regenstrief Institute, the Indiana University School of Medicine, the IU School of Liberal Arts and the Roudebush VA Medical Center report that chronic pain takes a toll on primary care providers as well as their patients. They conclude that providers' needs should not be ignored if pain care is to ...
Information technology needs fundamental shift to continue rapid advances in computing and help drive US competitiveness
2010-12-17
WASHINGTON — The rapid advances in information technology that drive many sectors of the U.S. economy could stall unless the nation aggressively pursues fundamental research and development of parallel computing -- hardware and software that enable multiple computing activities to process simultaneously, says a new report by the National Research Council. Better options for managing power consumption in computers will also be essential for continued improvements in IT performance.
For many decades, advances in single-processor, sequential computer microprocessors have ...
URI geologist develops improved seismic model for monitoring nuclear explosions in Middle East
2010-12-17
KINGSTON, R.I. – December 16, 2010 – Geologists from the University of Rhode Island and Princeton University, in collaboration with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, have taken an important step toward helping the United States government monitor nuclear explosions by improving a 3-dimensional model originally developed at Harvard University. The improvements make the model more accurate at detecting the location, source and depth of seismic activity.
The results of their research were presented today at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
The ...
Flu on the western front
2010-12-17
The World Health Organization set a target for the influenza vaccination rate for 2006 of more than 50% of the elderly population and an increase to more than 75% by 2010. These rates have thus far not been achieved in the old German states. In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107[48]: 845) the working group around Annicka M. Reuss presents rates from flu seasons past.
Germany's Standing Vaccination Committee (STIKO) recommends annual vaccinations against seasonal influenza. The risk groups for the infection, which ...
New study suggests almonds may help reduce risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease
2010-12-17
Modesto, CA (Dec. 16, 2010) – With nearly 16 million Americans living today with prediabetes, a condition that is the precursor to type 2 diabetes, and half of all Americans expected to have either prediabetes or type 2 diabetes by the year 2020, nutritional approaches to maintaining healthy blood sugar levels are essential.1,2 The findings of a scientific study examining the health promotion and disease prevention benefits of almond consumption were published in the June, 2010 Journal of the American College of Nutrition. The study, one of the first of its kind to quantify ...