New Mechanism for Breast Cancer Spread is Discovered

A completely new mechanism that cells use to spread breast cancer and reach to other parts of the body is discovered by a group of researchers at the University of Turku, Finland.

It is known for decades that human cells migrate by circulating cell surface adhesion receptors from one part of the cell to another. These adhesion receptors, called integrins, are important for normal cell motility during wound healing.

‘A high expression of the swiprosin-1 molecule correlates with the formation of metastases and malignancy of breast cancer.’

Earlier studies have also shown that cancer cells have developed efficient ways to circulate these receptors to spread to the surrounding tissue and to metastasize to other organs.

A new mechanism that highly aggressive breast cancer cells use to circulate integrins and migrate in the tissue called CG endocytosis mechanism is discovered.

Breast cancer cells direct the integrin adhesion receptors onto this conveyor belt. By hijacking this conveyor belt mechanism, cancer cells can promote the circulation of integrins, thus increasing cell migration and the formation of metastases.

Researchers discovered this molecule in the formation of metastases and with the malignancy of breast cancer by studying hundreds of breast cancer specimens. The results were published in the Nature Cell Biology journal.

These findings open up a new perspective into new cancer cells spread mechanisms, which will impact the direction of cancer studies in the future.



Source: Medindia