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

Key immune cell may play role in lung cancer susceptibility

2012-09-22
(Press-News.org) Why do many heavy smokers evade lung cancer while others who have never lit up die of the disease? The question has vexed scientists for decades.

Now, new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests a key immune cell may play a role in lung cancer susceptibility. Working in mice, they found evidence that the genetic diversity in natural killer cells, which typically seek out and destroy tumor cells, contributes to whether or not the animals develop lung cancer.

The research is published in September in Cancer Research.

"Overall, humans are genetically very similar but their immune systems are incredibly diverse," explains senior author Alexander Krupnick, MD, a thoracic surgeon at the Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. "Our findings add to the growing body of evidence suggesting that innate differences in immunity may determine not only a person's susceptibility to colds but also to lung cancer."

Based on the findings in mice, Krupnick says he and his colleagues now are studying whether humans have a similar genetic diversity in their natural killer cells. As part of a new clinical study, they're analyzing the blood of heavy smokers with and without lung cancer and never-smokers with and without lung cancer to look for differences.

"We want to know whether heavy smokers who don't get lung cancer have natural killer cells that are somehow better at destroying newly developing lung cancer cells," says Krupnick, associate professor of surgery. "And, by comparison, do patients who have never smoked but develop lung cancer have weak natural killer cells?"

For the mouse study, the scientists evaluated three groups of mice with varying susceptibilities to lung tumors. After the mice were exposed to a carcinogen that causes lung cancer, one group readily developed the disease while another showed little evidence of the tumors. A third group experienced moderate tumor growth.

When the researchers depleted natural killers cells from the mice using an antibody, those that had been resistant to lung cancer developed large, aggressive tumors.

Further, in mice susceptible to lung cancer, the scientists showed that manipulating the immune system with a bone marrow transplant could significantly block the development of lung cancer. Their studies indicate that natural killer cells, not other types of immune cells like T cells or inflammatory cells, are responsible for this phenomenon.

In other types of cancers, including those of the breast, colon and prostate, T cells are capable of destroying tumor cells. But in lung cancer, scientists suspect that T cells become inactivated, which may give natural killer cells a more prominent role.

The researchers also traced the genetic diversity of the natural killer cells in the mice to a region of chromosome 6, which includes numerous genes that influence the effectiveness of these cells.

Moving forward, Krupnick and his team want to learn whether natural killer cells influence lung cancer susceptibility in people. "We need to identify those patients who are resistant to lung cancer and ask, 'What is unique about their natural killer cells – are they more potent or do they produce more of them than people with lung cancer?' The answer will determine our next steps."

INFORMATION:

The research is supported by the ATX/Lungevity Foundation, the Alvin Siteman Cancer Center Internal Research Grant by the American Cancer Society, the National Institutes of Health (KO8CA131097) and Biostatistics Core (P30 Ca091842), the Rheumatic Diseases Core Center NIH (P30 AR48335), National Institutes of Health (1R01HL094601), The Barnes-Jewish Foundation, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin, Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education and the generous support of the Charlotte and Sheldon Rudnick.

Kreisel D, Gelman AE, Higashikubo R, Lin X, Vikis HG, White JM, Toth KA, Deshpande C, Carreno BM, You M, Taffner SM, Yokoyama WM, Bui JD, Schreiber RD, Krupnick AS. Strain-specific variation in murine natural killer gene complex contributes to differences in immunosurveillance for urethane-induced lung cancer. Cancer Research. September 2012.

Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked sixth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Columbia researchers report novel approach for single molecule electronic DNA sequencing

2012-09-22
DNA sequencing is the driving force behind key discoveries in medicine and biology. For instance, the complete sequence of an individual's genome provides important markers and guidelines for medical diagnostics and healthcare. Up to now, the major roadblock has been the cost and speed of obtaining highly accurate DNA sequences. While numerous advances have been made in the last 10 years, most current high-throughput sequencing instruments depend on optical techniques for the detection of the four building blocks of DNA: A, C, G and T. To further advance the measurement ...

Satellite spots Tropical Storm Nadine and 2 developing lows

Satellite spots Tropical Storm Nadine and 2 developing lows
2012-09-22
NOAA's GOES satellite captured Tropical Storm Nadine in the eastern Atlantic, another low pressure area forming in the central Atlantic, and a developing low in the eastern Pacific. NASA's TRMM satellite noticed that the storms around Nadine's center were waning. On Sept. 21 at 7:45 a.m. EDT, NOAA's GOES-13 satellite captured an image of Tropical Storm Nadine in the eastern Atlantic, and a developing low in the central Atlantic. Nadine is south of the frontal boundary draped across the Azores islands. NOAA's GOES-13 satellite sits in a fixed orbit over the eastern U.S. ...

Professor publishes on first-ever imaging of cells growing on spherical surfaces

2012-09-22
MELBOURNE, FLA.—Shengyuan Yang, Florida Institute of Technology assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, with graduate student Sang Joo Lee, has published a paper on the first-ever imaging of cells growing on spherical surfaces. The paper is published in the online journal, Review of Scientific Instruments, and will appear later in September in the print version. The potential biomedical applications of the researchers' technique include new strategies and devices for the early detection and isolation of cancer cells, facilitating new methods of ...

Einstein hosts its first stem cell institute symposium

2012-09-22
September 21, 2012 – (BRONX, NY) – The promise of stem cells seems limitless. If they can be coaxed into rebuilding organs, repairing damaged spinal cords and restoring ravaged immune systems, these malleable cells would revolutionize medical treatment. But stem cell research is still in its infancy, as scientists seek to better understand the role of these cells in normal human development and disease. On Friday, September 14, the Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva ...

NASA satellite sees Tropical Storm Jelawat form in northwestern Pacific

NASA satellite sees Tropical Storm Jelawat form in northwestern Pacific
2012-09-22
As another tropical storm was forming in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, NASA's Terra satellite was providing forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center with visible and other data on the storm. NASA's Terra satellite passed over Tropical Depression 18W before it strengthened into Tropical Storm Jelawat late in the day on Sept. 20, in the Philippine Sea (part of the western North Pacific Ocean basin). On Sept. 20 at 01:50 UTC, as the depression was strengthening into a tropical storm, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's ...

Undertreatment of common heart condition persists despite rapid adoption of novel therapies

2012-09-22
A novel blood thinner recently approved by the FDA, dabigatran (Pradaxa), has been rapidly adopted into clinical practice, yet thus far has had little impact on improving treatment rates for atrial fibrillation. This is according to a new study led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health that examined national trends in oral anticoagulant use. They found that despite rapid adoption of dabigatran for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, a large proportion of patients–two in five–did not receive oral anticoagulant therapy. In addition, although ...

Simple ovarian cancer symptom survey that checks for 6 warning signs may improve early detection

2012-09-22
SEATTLE – A simple three-question paper-and-pencil survey, given to women in the doctor's office in less than two minutes, can effectively identify those who are experiencing symptoms that may indicate ovarian cancer, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The study represents the first evaluation of an ovarian cancer symptom-screening tool in a primary care setting among normal-risk women as part of their routine medical-history assessment. The results are published online in the Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Early ...

Naked mole-rats may hold clues to pain relief

2012-09-22
Naked mole-rats evolved to thrive in an acidic environment that other mammals, including humans, would find intolerable. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago report new findings as to how these rodents have adapted to this environment. The study was published online this week on PLOS ONE. In the tightly crowded burrows of the African naked mole-rats' world, carbon dioxide builds up to levels that would be toxic for other mammals, and the air becomes highly acidic. These animals freely tolerate these unpleasant conditions, says Thomas Park, professor ...

Women Have Options When It Comes To Hair Loss Thanks to Dr. Andrea Purcell

2012-09-22
Hair; for many women it is a defining factor of their looks. We spend hours washing, combing, styling, cutting, dying, and working it every which way to get the look we want. It is a source of expression and feminine pride and it is something that is uniquely ours. Unfortunately for many women, hair loss is a common and upsetting issue. Watching something so special and unique fall out before your very eyes can be painful and can hurt a woman's self-esteem and confidence. This loss of confidence can lead to other issues such as depression and anxiety. As a women ...

New Audio Book Release from Acclaimed Motivational Speaker

2012-09-22
John Di Lemme, author of the bestselling motivational and personal development book 10 Life Lessons on How to Find Your Why Now and Achieve Ultimate Success, has just announced the release of the audio book version of his acclaimed book. John has changed lives around the globe as an international motivational speaker that has spoken in over five hundred venues. Over the past eighteen years, he has shared the stage with the best of the best including Dr. John Maxwell, Rich Devos, Dennis Waitley, Jim Rohn and Les Brown, only to name a few. John was also featured on Zig Ziglar's ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Emory-led Lancet review highlights racial disparities in sudden cardiac arrest and death among athletes

A new approach to predicting malaria drug resistance

Coral adaptation unlikely to keep pace with global warming

Bioinspired droplet-based systems herald a new era in biocompatible devices

A fossil first: Scientists find 1.5-million-year-old footprints of two different species of human ancestors at same spot

The key to “climate smart” agriculture might be through its value chain

These hibernating squirrels could use a drink—but don’t feel the thirst

New footprints offer evidence of co-existing hominid species 1.5 million years ago

Moral outrage helps misinformation spread through social media

U-M, multinational team of scientists reveal structural link for initiation of protein synthesis in bacteria

New paper calls for harnessing agrifood value chains to help farmers be climate-smart

Preschool education: A key to supporting allophone children

CNIC scientists discover a key mechanism in fat cells that protects the body against energetic excess

Chemical replacement of TNT explosive more harmful to plants, study shows

Scientists reveal possible role of iron sulfides in creating life in terrestrial hot springs

Hormone therapy affects the metabolic health of transgender individuals

Survey of 12 European countries reveals the best and worst for smoke-free homes

First new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years

Certain HRT tablets linked to increased heart disease and blood clot risk

Talking therapy and rehabilitation probably improve long covid symptoms, but effects modest

Ban medical research with links to the fossil fuel industry, say experts

Different menopausal hormone treatments pose different risks

Novel CAR T cell therapy obe-cel demonstrates high response rates in adult patients with advanced B-cell ALL

Clinical trial at Emory University reveals twice-yearly injection to be 96% effective in HIV prevention

Discovering the traits of extinct birds

Are health care disparities tied to worse outcomes for kids with MS?

For those with CTE, family history of mental illness tied to aggression in middle age

The sound of traffic increases stress and anxiety

Global food yields have grown steadily during last six decades

Children who grow up with pets or on farms may develop allergies at lower rates because their gut microbiome develops with more anaerobic commensals, per fecal analysis in small cohort study

[Press-News.org] Key immune cell may play role in lung cancer susceptibility