Targeting around cancer tissue may inhibit or limit cancer metastasis

February 20, 2020 / BIOON/ --Cancer depends on the blood, just like other parts of the body, the growth of tumor needs blood vessels to provide oxygen and nutrients, but cancer will use these blood vessels to spread to other parts of the body in another way; when cancer begins to metastasize, some cancer cells will be separated from the primary site, and spread through blood flow or vascular network If conditions are right, circulating cancer cells will be captured by small blood vessels, escape and develop into new tumors elsewhere in the body Once cancer spreads, it will be difficult for researchers to treat it Of course, this is the problem that researchers have been trying to solve Recently, scientists from the Beatson Institute are looking for whether they can target the cells around the tumor (not the tumor) through research As a potential method to effectively inhibit the occurrence and spread of cancer Researcher Alice Santi said that understanding the main cause of cancer death when cancer cells spread to other parts may help researchers further clarify the mechanism of cancer spread Photo source: Dr Alice Santi, Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute Studies cancer cells in the surrounding environment of cancer Most tumors will be embedded in the cell network These cells can provide structural or connectivity support for organs, also known as stroma This supportive system consists of a variety of different cells, including fibroblasts These convenient units will produce all the molecules that make up the living environment of cells, which is known as extracellular matrix, but these cells are not always good When cancer cells exist, normal fibroblasts will be designated as cancer-related fibroblasts (CAFs), which Some new activated cells play a key role in cancer progression (including metastasis), one of which is to change the characteristics of tumor surrounding areas, the behavior of healthy cells and cancer cells Researchers want to target these cells, but first they need to know more about this supportive system and how it promotes tumor growth and metastasis Interfere with "conversation" Santi, a researcher, has been focusing on how these fibroblasts communicate with the cells in the blood vessels She said that CAFs can modify the behavior of these cells to promote metastasis Cancer cells need to enter the blood vessels to be able to spread, which requires them to communicate with the cells in the blood vessels, and CAFs can also promote the preparation of blood vessels for communication CAFs can provide new functions for vascular cells by transferring proteins that are not normally needed Understanding the mechanism of communication between CAFs and blood vessels may reveal a new way to block the spread of cancer Cells grow together before they can solve the mystery of cell behavior, researchers need to find a good way to culture different types of cells together, which is called co culture, which seems to be a major challenge The problem with co culture systems (different cell types in the same place), explains researcher Santi, is that if you want to culture cells together, and then analyze the behavior of each cell type to find out their problems, researchers are currently working on an experimental model to solve this problem Researchers hope to develop an experimental model to improve the communication and interaction between CAFs and other cells At present, they focus on the potential of CAFs to detect breast cancer and ovarian cancer, and they are more inclined to cultivate interstitial tissue rich in CAFs Finally, the researchers say, because we can remodel tumors Because of the growing environment, we can regard CAFs as an architect The relevant research results show that one of the tools used by the researchers can transfer proteins With the help of the new co culture system, the researchers can now study these special proteins In the next step, they will further study whether blocking this transfer can effectively inhibit cancer A transfer has occurred Reference: targeting cancer 'surveys to prevent or limit metastasis by Harry Jenkins, Cancer Research UK