In the 1st study of its kind, researchers Map how Info flows through Genetic Circuits that cause #Cancer cells to become #metastatic. >>reveals a common pattern in the decision-making that allows cancer cells to both migrate and form new tumors. Cells have genetic circuits that are used to switch certain behaviors on and off, .... Though some of the circuits for metastasis have been mapped, this is the first study to examine how cancer uses 2 of those circuits, in concert, to produce not just cancer #stem cells, but also dangerous packs of #hybrid #stem-like-cells that travel in groups to colonize other parts of the body. The switch that many cancer cells use to become metastatic is the circuit that governs the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, or #EMT. In 2013 it was discovered that cancer uses the EMT circuitry as a 3-way switch. Rather than simply flipping between the epithelial (#E) and mesenchymal (#M) states, cancer could form E-M #Hybrids. In the new study, they examine #interaction b/n the 3-way EMT switch and a 2nd, well-documented genetic switch that gives rise to cancer stem cells (#CSCs). + they found significant #correspondence between the operation of the 2 switches, which suggests a mechanism that would confer #stemness on hybrid E-M cancer cells that are known to travel in packs called circulating tumor cells (#CTCs). According to the prevailing cancer dogma, cells that become fully #mesenchymal pose the #highest #risk of #metastasis progression,... Indeed, most diagnostic and therapeutic efforts to date have focused on targeting these cells. Notwithstanding that the hybrid cells are more #versatile and have the advantage of moving together as a group, they have been assumed to be less harmful than their fully mesenchymal cousins. Our discovery -- that #squads of hybrid cancer cells also have stemness characteristics -- challenges this picture. #CONC: the #coupling between the 2 switches shows that 2 seemingly independent and distinct cellular programs - one that drives #migration and a second that drives #adaptation and #tumorigenesis - are linked. The existence of a link suggests that we may be able to simultaneously target both processes with innovative new therapies, news.rice.edu/2014/10/31/decoding-the-emergence-of-metastatic-cancer-stem-cells-2/
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 14:44:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015