by William G. Gilroy
Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs)
(Medical Xpress)—A new paper by a team of researchers led by Zachary T. Schafer, Coleman Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, offers important new insights into the role carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play in tumor biology.
A number of recent studies have revealed CAFs to be a major contributor to tumor progression through a variety of mechanisms. Despite this information, the precise role CAFs play in augmenting the growth of tumors is still poorly understood.
In their new paper, Schafer and his fellow researchers describe a critical role for CAFs in blocking anoikis, a cell death process that inhibits the spread of tumor cells to distant sites, through the secretion of insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGFBPs). They revealed the precise molecular mechanism utilized by IGFBPs to inhibit anoikis: the stabilization of an anti-cell-death protein called Mcl-1.
"While cells present in the tumor microenvironment are now widely appreciated to actively contribute to tumor progression, our studies have unveiled a novel mechanism by which this can occur," Schafer said. "Therapies designed to hinder this role for IGFBPs might be particularly useful in slowing breast cancer metastasis."
Schafer noted, however, that additional pre-clinical studies are necessary to better understand which IGFBPs might be amenable to target and to determine the precise point during tumor progression that IGBFP inhibition could be effective.
The paper was published online on May 7 in the journal Molecular Cancer Research.
Explore further: New paper offers insights into how cancer cells avoid cell death
More information: "CAF-Secreted IGFBPs Regulate Breast Cancer Cell Anoikis." Kelsey J. Weigel, Ana Jakimenko, Brooke A. Conti, Sarah E. Chapman, William J. Kaliney, W. Matthew Leevy, Matthew M. Champion, and Zachary T. Schafer. Mol Cancer Res Published OnlineFirst May 6, 2014; DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-14-0090
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
New paper offers insights into how cancer cells avoid cell death
Jun 19, 2013
(Medical Xpress)—A new study by a team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame provides an important new insight into how cancer cells are able to avoid the cell death process. The findings may ...
Storming the gates: Study probes how pancreatic cancers metastasize
Mar 25, 2013
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered that a protein found in the cells surrounding pancreatic cancers play a role in the spread of the disease to other parts of the ...
Regulator of gene expression responsible for the progression of breast cancer
Feb 28, 2014
Yale Cancer Center researchers have identified a regulator of gene expression that is responsible for the progression of breast cancer and its metastasis to the lung. The study appears online in Cell Reports.
Blood-pressure drug may help improve cancer treatment
Oct 01, 2013
Use of existing, well-established hypertension drugs could improve the outcome of cancer chemotherapy by opening up collapsed blood vessels in solid tumors. In their report in the online journal Nature Co ...
New study shows promise for preventing therapy resistance in tumor cells
Jan 09, 2014
A new study led by University of Kentucky researchers suggests that activating the tumor suppressor p53 in normal cells causes them to secrete Par-4, another potent tumor suppressor protein that induces cell death in cancer ...
Recommended for you
Breast tomosynthesis after screening mammography reduces need for ultrasound, biopsies
15 hours ago
Breast tomosynthesis in the diagnostic workup for one- or two-view focal asymmetry detected at screening mammography resulted in less use of ultrasound, fewer biopsies, and higher positive predictive value for cancer than ...
CT-guided irreversible electroporation safe in unresectable pancreatic carcinoma
15 hours ago
A small group of patients with locally advanced unresectable pancreatic carcinoma suffered no major ill effects—pancreatitis or fistula formation—after undergoing percutaneous CT-guided irreversible electroporation (IRE)—a ...
Automated CT dose-tracking software effectively monitors dosage in a clinical setting
15 hours ago
Dose-tracking software provides effective and easy monitoring of radiation dose exposure in a busy academic practice, according to research conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Nonscreened patients with breast cancer need more treatment than screened patients
15 hours ago
Screening 40- to 49-year-old women for breast cancer has additional benefits beyond the proven decrease in mortality rate. Patients screened with mammography are statistically less likely to undergo chemotherapy, avoiding ...
Study finds radiation best treatment for a rare skin cancer
15 hours ago
Radiation treatment can help reduce the recurrence of Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive skin cancer, while chemotherapy does not appear to have any impact on recurrence or survival, according to a Kaiser Permanente ...
ARRS: Women overestimate radiation risk from mammogram
17 hours ago
(HealthDay)—Women tend to overestimate the radiation risk associated with mammography, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society, held from May 4 to 9 in ...
User comments
© Medical Xpress 2011-2014, Science X network
by William G. Gilroy
Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs)
(Medical Xpress)—A new paper by a team of researchers led by Zachary T. Schafer, Coleman Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, offers important new insights into the role carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play in tumor biology.
A number of recent studies have revealed CAFs to be a major contributor to tumor progression through a variety of mechanisms. Despite this information, the precise role CAFs play in augmenting the growth of tumors is still poorly understood.
In their new paper, Schafer and his fellow researchers describe a critical role for CAFs in blocking anoikis, a cell death process that inhibits the spread of tumor cells to distant sites, through the secretion of insulin-like growth factor-binding proteins (IGFBPs). They revealed the precise molecular mechanism utilized by IGFBPs to inhibit anoikis: the stabilization of an anti-cell-death protein called Mcl-1.
"While cells present in the tumor microenvironment are now widely appreciated to actively contribute to tumor progression, our studies have unveiled a novel mechanism by which this can occur," Schafer said. "Therapies designed to hinder this role for IGFBPs might be particularly useful in slowing breast cancer metastasis."
Schafer noted, however, that additional pre-clinical studies are necessary to better understand which IGFBPs might be amenable to target and to determine the precise point during tumor progression that IGBFP inhibition could be effective.
The paper was published online on May 7 in the journal Molecular Cancer Research.
Explore further: New paper offers insights into how cancer cells avoid cell death
More information: "CAF-Secreted IGFBPs Regulate Breast Cancer Cell Anoikis." Kelsey J. Weigel, Ana Jakimenko, Brooke A. Conti, Sarah E. Chapman, William J. Kaliney, W. Matthew Leevy, Matthew M. Champion, and Zachary T. Schafer. Mol Cancer Res Published OnlineFirst May 6, 2014; DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-14-0090
Medical Xpress on facebook
Related Stories
New paper offers insights into how cancer cells avoid cell death
Jun 19, 2013
(Medical Xpress)—A new study by a team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame provides an important new insight into how cancer cells are able to avoid the cell death process. The findings may ...
Storming the gates: Study probes how pancreatic cancers metastasize
Mar 25, 2013
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered that a protein found in the cells surrounding pancreatic cancers play a role in the spread of the disease to other parts of the ...
Regulator of gene expression responsible for the progression of breast cancer
Feb 28, 2014
Yale Cancer Center researchers have identified a regulator of gene expression that is responsible for the progression of breast cancer and its metastasis to the lung. The study appears online in Cell Reports.
Blood-pressure drug may help improve cancer treatment
Oct 01, 2013
Use of existing, well-established hypertension drugs could improve the outcome of cancer chemotherapy by opening up collapsed blood vessels in solid tumors. In their report in the online journal Nature Co ...
New study shows promise for preventing therapy resistance in tumor cells
Jan 09, 2014
A new study led by University of Kentucky researchers suggests that activating the tumor suppressor p53 in normal cells causes them to secrete Par-4, another potent tumor suppressor protein that induces cell death in cancer ...
Recommended for you
Breast tomosynthesis after screening mammography reduces need for ultrasound, biopsies
15 hours ago
Breast tomosynthesis in the diagnostic workup for one- or two-view focal asymmetry detected at screening mammography resulted in less use of ultrasound, fewer biopsies, and higher positive predictive value for cancer than ...
CT-guided irreversible electroporation safe in unresectable pancreatic carcinoma
15 hours ago
A small group of patients with locally advanced unresectable pancreatic carcinoma suffered no major ill effects—pancreatitis or fistula formation—after undergoing percutaneous CT-guided irreversible electroporation (IRE)—a ...
Automated CT dose-tracking software effectively monitors dosage in a clinical setting
15 hours ago
Dose-tracking software provides effective and easy monitoring of radiation dose exposure in a busy academic practice, according to research conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Nonscreened patients with breast cancer need more treatment than screened patients
15 hours ago
Screening 40- to 49-year-old women for breast cancer has additional benefits beyond the proven decrease in mortality rate. Patients screened with mammography are statistically less likely to undergo chemotherapy, avoiding ...
Study finds radiation best treatment for a rare skin cancer
15 hours ago
Radiation treatment can help reduce the recurrence of Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive skin cancer, while chemotherapy does not appear to have any impact on recurrence or survival, according to a Kaiser Permanente ...
ARRS: Women overestimate radiation risk from mammogram
17 hours ago
(HealthDay)—Women tend to overestimate the radiation risk associated with mammography, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society, held from May 4 to 9 in ...
User comments
© Medical Xpress 2011-2014, Science X network
0 comments:
Post a Comment