(Press-News.org) Skin squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a subtype of very aggressive skin cancers that usually develops in sunexposed body regions, but can also affect a large number of organs such as the bladder, esophagus, lungs etc. However, little is known about the biology of these cells, which consequently makes difficult the generation of new specific therapies; actually, the standard treatments are based on surgery and subsequent radiotherapy.
Researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) led by Erwin Wagner, vice-director of Basic Research and director of BBVA Foundation-CNIO Cancer Cell Biology Programme, have discovered a molecular mechanism that favours the disappearance and inhibition of SCC development. The authors propose that these mechanisms could be crucial for the development of targeted therapies that could potentially overcome drug resistance.
The study, which also involves the participation of medical researchers at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, is published today on the online edition of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
"The guardian of the genome" p53, decreases cell division in favour of cell differentiation
Using in vitro models, mouse genetic models and human tumors, researchers have uncovered the molecular signals by which the p53 protein, also called "the guardian of the genome", prevents the formation of skin SCC tumors.
"We demonstrate for the first time that p53 promotes differentiation [cell functional specialization] of keratinocytes [the most predominant cell type in the epidermis], thus avoiding their division and providing a protective effect against tumors", states Juan Guinea Viniegra, "Ramón y Cajal" investigator at the CNIO and first author of the work.
The alteration of these pathways decreases cell differentiation and hence produces an increase in cell division. "We found that samples from patients with skin SCC show reduced activity of proteins that promote cell differentiation and an overactivation of inhibitory signals," says Guinea.
An additional contribution of this work is the use of compounds that induce cell differentiation at the expense of cancer cell division. "The next step is to test these molecules in mouse models of skin cancer and assess whether they impair cell division and tumor development", reveals the author.
Treatment of tumors based on differentiation therapies is a new avenue in the development of innovative cancer treatments. These therapies, unlike conventional ones, seek to transform cancer cells into differentiated cells, which remain in the body with few possibilities to divide and likely avoiding the appearance of drug resistance.
###
Reference article:
Differentiation-induced skin cancer suppression by FOS, p53, and TACE/ADAM17. Juan Guinea-Viniegra, Rainer Zenz, Harald Scheuch, María Jiménez, Latifa Bakiri, Peter Petzelbauer, Erwin F. Wagner. The Journal of Clinical Investigation (2012). DOI: :10.1172/JCI63103
Cell differentiation as a novel strategy for the treatment of an aggressive type of skin cancer
This approach is described in the work published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, which sheds light on the mechanisms that regulate squamous cell carcinoma development
2012-07-10
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Long-term hormone treatment increases synapses in rat prefrontal cortex
2012-07-10
CHAMPAIGN, lll. — A new study of aged female rats found that long-term treatment with estrogen and a synthetic progesterone known as MPA increased levels of a protein marker of synapses in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region known to suffer significant losses in aging.
The new findings appear to contradict the results of the Women's Health Initiative, a long-term study begun in 1991 to analyze the effects of hormone therapy on a large sample of healthy postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79. Among other negative findings, the WHI found that long-term exposure to estrogen ...
Investing in karma by doing good deeds
2012-07-10
For so many important outcomes in life – applying for jobs, waiting for medical test results – there comes a point when you just have to sit back and hope for the best. But that doesn't mean we always behave that way. New research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that even when an outcome is out of our control we often act as though we can still get on the good side of fate by doing good deeds.
According to lead researcher Benjamin Converse, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Psychology at the University ...
Vaccine and antibiotics stabilized so refrigeration is not needed -- NIH study
2012-07-10
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new silk-based stabilizer that, in the laboratory, kept some vaccines and antibiotics stable up to temperatures of 140 degrees Fahrenheit. This provides a new avenue toward eliminating the need to keep some vaccines and antibiotics refrigerated, which could save billions of dollars every year and increase accessibility to third world populations.
Vaccines and antibiotics often need to be refrigerated to prevent alteration of their chemical structures; such alteration can result in less potent or ...
UNC research: Corals on ocean-side of reef are most susceptible to recent warming
2012-07-10
Marine scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have linked the decline in growth of Caribbean forereef corals — due to recent warming — to long-term trends in seawater temperature experienced by these corals located on the ocean-side of the reef. The research was conducted on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System in southern Belize.
The results were revealed online in the July 8 issue of Nature Climate Change, a journal that publishes research on the impacts of global climate change and its implications for the economy, policy and the world at large. ...
Rating films with smoking 'R' will cut smoking onset by teens
2012-07-10
New research from Norris Cotton Cancer Center estimates, for the first time, the impact of an R rating for movie smoking. James Sargent, MD, co-director of the Cancer Control Research Program at Norris Cotton Cancer Center, emphasizes that an R rating for any film showing smoking could substantially reduce smoking onset in U.S. adolescents -- an effect size similar to making all parents maximally authoritative in their parenting, Sargent says.
"Smoking is a killer. Its connection to cancer, heart attacks, and chronic lung disease is beyond doubt. Kids start to smoke before ...
Triboelectric generator produces electricity by harnessing friction between surfaces
2012-07-10
Researchers have discovered yet another way to harvest small amounts of electricity from motion in the world around us – this time by capturing the electrical charge produced when two different kinds of plastic materials rub against one another. Based on flexible polymer materials, this "triboelectric" generator could provide alternating current (AC) from activities such as walking.
The triboelectric generator could supplement power produced by nanogenerators that use the piezoelectric effect to create current from the flexing of zinc oxide nanowires. And because these ...
Carnegie Mellon's smart headlight system will have drivers seeing through the rain
2012-07-10
PITTSBURGH—Drivers can struggle to see when driving at night in a rainstorm or snowstorm, but a smart headlight system invented by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute can improve visibility by constantly redirecting light to shine between particles of precipitation.
The system, demonstrated in laboratory tests, prevents the distracting and sometimes dangerous glare that occurs when headlight beams are reflected by precipitation back toward the driver.
"If you're driving in a thunderstorm, the smart headlights will make it seem like it's a ...
Newer technology to control blood sugar works better than conventional methods
2012-07-10
Newer technologies designed to help people with type 1 diabetes monitor their blood sugar levels daily work better than traditional methods and require fewer painful needle sticks, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.
The research findings, published online in the July 10 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggest that even though these diabetic control technologies are more costly, people with diabetes who use an insulin pump are more satisfied with their treatment and quality of life than those who give themselves insulin shots many times a day.
Researchers ...
New insights into how the most iconic reaction in organic chemistry really works
2012-07-10
In 1928, chemists Otto Diels and Kurt Alder first documented diene synthesis, a chemical reaction important for synthesizing many polymers, alkaloids and steroids. Their work on this mechanism, which came to be known as the Diels–Alder reaction, won them the 1950 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Since then, the iconic reaction has become the most commonly used and studied mechanism in organic chemistry. But what happens during the reaction has never been entirely clear.
Now, Kendall N. Houk, UCLA's Saul Winstein Professor of Organic Chemistry, and colleagues report exactly ...
Study suggests new screening method for sudden death in athletes
2012-07-10
A new study suggests that echocardiography be included as part of screenings to help identify student athletes with heart problems that could lead to sudden death.
The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study, presented recently at the annual meeting of the American Society of Echocardiography, suggests adding a modified echo to the current practice of taking an EKG, getting a family history and having a physical exam.
"EKG is a good tool, but may not be sensitive enough to catch problems that could lead to sudden death," says Michelle Grenier, MD, a physician ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
UCLA professor Helen Lavretsky reshapes brain health through integrative medicine research
Astronauts found to process some tasks slower in space, but no signs of permanent cognitive decline
Larger pay increases and better benefits could support teacher retention
Researchers characterize mechanism for regulating orderly zygotic genome activation in early embryos
AI analysis of urine can predict flare up of lung disease a week in advance
New DESI results weigh in on gravity
New DESI data shed light on gravity’s pull in the universe
Boosting WA startups: Report calls for investment in talent, diversity and innovation
New AEM study highlights feasibility of cranial accelerometry device for prehospital detection of large-vessel occlusion stroke
High cardiorespiratory fitness linked to lower risk of dementia
Oral microbiome varies with life stress and mental health symptoms in pregnant women
NFL’s Arizona Cardinals provide 12 schools with CPR resources to improve cardiac emergency outcomes
Northerners, Scots and Irish excel at detecting fake accents to guard against outsiders, Cambridge study suggests
Synchronized movement between robots and humans builds trust, study finds
Global experts make sense of the science shaping public policies worldwide in new International Science Council and Frontiers Policy Labs series
The Wistar Institute and Cameroon researchers reveals HIV latency reversing properties in African plant
$4.5 million Dept. of Education grant to expand mental health services through Binghamton University Community Schools
Thermochemical tech shows promising path for building heat
Four Tufts University faculty are named top researchers in the world
Columbia Aging Center epidemiologist co-authors new report from National Academies on using race and ethnicity in biomedical research
Astronomers discover first pairs of white dwarf and main sequence stars in clusters, shining new light on stellar evolution
C-Path’s TRxA announces $1 million award for drug development project in type 1 diabetes
Changing the definition of cerebral palsy
New research could pave way for vaccine against deadly wildlife disease
Listening for early signs of Alzheimer’s disease #ASA187
Research Spotlight: Gastroenterology education improved through inpatient care teaching model
Texas A&M researchers uncover secrets of horse genetics for conservation, breeding
Bioeconomy in Colombia: The race to save Colombia's vital shellfish
NFL’s Colts bring CPR education to flag football to improve cardiac emergency outcomes
Research: Fitness more important than fatness for a lower risk of premature death
[Press-News.org] Cell differentiation as a novel strategy for the treatment of an aggressive type of skin cancerThis approach is described in the work published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, which sheds light on the mechanisms that regulate squamous cell carcinoma development