Blind Mole Rat's Ability to Fight Cancer

Mole rats can be found underground in places like Southern and Eastern Africa and the Middle East. They have incredible abilities to survive in thier underground habitats. For example, the naked mole rat does not experience pain and is the only cold blooded mammal. Also, blind mole rats' cells have a fascinating way of fighting cancer. Scientists wanted to take a closer look to find out how blind mole rats are cancer free. Vera Gorbunova, of the University of Rochester and her colleagues examined two species, the Judean Mountains blind mole rat (Spalax judaei) and the Golan Heights blind mole rat (Spalax golani), which live in small regions of Israel. Since the blind mole rats' burrows conatain low levels of oxygen, it would be believed that their cells would commit suicide. However, blind mole rats' cells cannot kill themselves through a type of cell suicide called apoptosis. So you would think blind mole rats should be more susceptible to cancer because their cells cannot undergo apoptosis, but that is not the case. To live underground, blind mole rats had to evolve a mutation in a cancer fighting protein called p53. The mutation prevents cells from undergoing apoptosis, a type of cell death in which cells dismantle themselves from the inside, and a process used to kill cancer cells.
Vera Gorbunova and her colleagues took cells from the blind mole rats and put them in a culture that would force them to multiply beyond what would happen within the animals’ bodies. Beyond twenty multiplications, cells started to rapidly die off. The cells release a chemical called interferon-beta, which the immune system uses normally to fight viruses. In blind mole rats, the chemical caused blind mole rate cells to "burst" open, a process known as necrosis. Once the blind mole rats' cells detected multiplication beyond a cetain point, they kill themselves. Now, researchers are trying to figure out why necrosis is able to kill tumor cells without damaging healthy tissues. Living in low oxygen environments definitly benefit blind mole rat's ability to fight cancer.
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/11/blind-mole-rat-cancer/
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/346267/description/Cancer_cells_self-destruct_in_blind_mole_rats

Lower Antioxidant Level Might Explain Higher Skin Cancer Rate in Males

A new study shows part of the reason why men are three times more likely than momen to get skin cancer. Although medical science does not know why, researchers at Ohio State University might have the answer. They found that male mice have lower levels of an important skin antioxidant than female mice. They also have higher levels of cancer-linked inflammatory cells. This skin antioxidant is called catalase. It inhabits skin cancer by cleaning up hydrogen peroxide and other DNA-damaging reactive-oxygen compounds that are formed during exposure to UVB. UVB, or ultra violet B light, is a common source of sunburn and cancer-causing skin damage. Studies show links of low catalase activity to skin cancer. Researchers say women have more natural antioxidant skin protection than men do, which is why men may be more susceptible to oxidative stress in the skin. This then raises the risk of skin cancer.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111201174231.htm

New Genetic Tes Distinguishes Between Benign Skin Growths and Melanoma

Melanoma is an aggressive form of skin cancer. If it is found early enough, it can be removed with no harm caused. But when detected late, it can be deadly. This article tells us about a new test that was recently discovered. This test, instead of looking at the changes in the sequence of DNA in skin cells, it looks at the changes in the methylation of the DNA. Methylation is the addition of a small chemical group to a base in DNA, and it does not change the sequence of DNA. The researchers conducting this study found a set of 22 genes that can be used to seperate melanoma from non-cancerous cells, based only on chang in methylation patterns.

www.cancerquest.org/newsletter

Cancer Risk Increases With Height

The taller a woman is, at a greaterrisk for cancer, a large study has found.

Researchers at the University of Oxford in England analyzed data on more than 1.2 million British women followed for an average of 9.4 years. There were more than 97,000 cases of cancer among the women. The researchers found that for each four-inch increase in height over 5 feet 1 inch, the risk that a woman would develop cancer increased by about 16 percent. The analysis covered 17 types of cancer, but the relative risk increase was statistically significant for just 10 of them. The authors suggest that levels of growth hormone might be involved in the genesis of cancer, or that taller people are at greater risk for mutations simply because their bodies comprise more cells.

Taller women had a higher risk of several kinds of cancer, including bowel cancer, skin cancer, breast cancer, cancer of the ovaries, cancer of the womb lining, cancer of the kidneys, leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma), and cancers affecting the nervous system. Although the study looked only at middle-aged women, previous research has found similar results for men.

Although the researchers found a link between height and cancer, it’s hard to say what the cause might be. There are several theories. Your height is determined partly by your genes, and some cancers have a genetic cause. So, it might be that some people have a genetic type that makes them taller and more likely to develop cancer. Aspects of someone’s life such as the food they eat, how well-nourished they were as a child, and their social group may affect both height and cancer risk.

I find this interesting because many people in my family have developed cancer, and are of many different body shapes and sizes. It leads me to wondering if the theory behind body size is true, or if it is just genetics that causes cancer.

Cancer Development

Contrary to previous belief, scientists are now discovering that cancers may be classified as a different parasitic species living in an organism. They are comparable to a bacterial level organism. Essentially, they grow when, where, and how they want instead of following the host organisms orders. That would qualify them as a different species. However, they are slightly different because their genome, unlike most other organisms, is constantly changing, so a new species is made with every individual cancer patient. Also, scientists previously believed that cancer was caused by random gene mutations. Now, however, many molecular biologists believe that cancer is caused by multiple chromosomal disorders.

This is an important step in cancer research. Cancer is a very successful parasite because of its resiliency. It can change the amount of chromosomes it has many times, but can still live as long as genes responsible for asexual reproduction are still in place. They are primitive, which works to their advantage, as imperfect mitosis allows them to constantly evolve. This makes finding a universal cancer drug that does not also kill the host almost impossible.

1. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110726163519.htm

The Naked Mole Rat's DNA Defense Against Cancer

In the Science Daily news, there is a new discovery in revealing special characteristics within naked mole rats that allow them to stay healthy, and live longer then many other animals, without becoming sick.

(http://www.naked-mole-rat.org/)

Naked mole rats have fought through evolutionary changes and harsh environments. However, researchers have found that these rats never have health problems as they age, which results in being able to live without having infectious diseases. In this study, scientists are looking very closely at the sequencing of the rats’ DNA and the genes associated with protecting against these aging diseases. The article states, “recent studies have suggested that its cells possess anti-tumour capabilities that are not present in other rodents or in humans”. Naked mole rats are now an important subject to try and help one understand what could help aid in protecting against diseases in other species.

This new discovery can lead to possible new treatments within the study of diseases. It is an astonishing discovery that an animal that we do not see very often would posses such an important feature. Naked mole rats have found a way to live longer, and fight off cancer. If it is possible in the near future, this DNA sequencing may help aid in fighting off diseases in other animals and humans, or at least start to give us an understanding of what can help.

Researchers Discover Human Lung Stem Cell

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital have discovered a true human lung stem cell. The human lung stem cell is self-renewing and capable of forming multiple biological structures within the lung.

"These are critical first steps in developing clinical treatment for those with lung diseases for which no therapies exist. Further research is needed, but we are excited about the impact this discovery could have on our ability to regenerate or recreate new lung tissues to replace damaged areas of the lungs," said Joseph Loscalzo, M.D. Phd., chair of the Department of Medicine at BWH and co-author.

As someone who has lost two grandfathers and a father to lung cancer these findings seem promising for the treatment of lung cancer in the future. In the past a diagnosis of lung cancer was a death sentence.

Chemo-Resistant Cancer

Research at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans has led to the discovery of a protein in cancer cells that causes the cells to be chemotherapy resistant. The protein "enables the activation of a DNA-repair enzyme that protects cancer cells from catastrophic damage caused by chemo and radiation therapy." The protein is called c-MYC oncoprotein, and it can initiate and promote almost all human cancers. The research team led by Daitoku Sakamuro, PhD, designed a set of experiments using the chemotherapy drug cisplatin, which is commonly used in first-line therapy for various cancers. They found that the c-MYC oncoprotein "increases cisplatin resistance by decreasing production of a c-MYC inhibitor called BIN1." BIN1 suppresses an enzyme essential for DNA repair in cancer cells; therefore, the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemo greatly depends on BIN1 abundance. Overproduction of c-MYC repressed BIN1, taking away its life-saving action. So basically, more c-MYC oncoprotein --> less BIN1 --> more enzymes leading to more DNA repair of cancer cells --> ineffectiveness of cisplatin chemotherapy.

I found this article interesting because of my interest in cancer research. The American Cancer Society estimates that 1,529,560 new cancer cases were expected to be diagnosed in the United States alone, and cancer accounts for about 25% of all deaths annually in the US. If researchers can find a way to inhibit the c-MYC oncoprotein, a good portion of those lives can be saved with basic chemotherapy like cisplatin!

This article was found on BiologyNews, but the main work was published in Science Signaling on March 29, 2011.

Eat Your Broccoli

It has always been known that a chemical in broccoli, cauliflower, and other related vegetables contained a chemical called isothiocyanate to reduce the risk of cancer, however, there was no definite answer as to how.

According to Discovery News, recent research at Georgetown University found that isothiocyanate sticks to a defective protein found in cancerous cells. The broccoli-born chemical only binds to the protein when it is defective. The normal version is left alone.

The gene p53 is in control of the production of the defective protein found in cancerous cells. When functioning normally, p53 helps stop cells from uncontrollably replicating, however, when it becomes mutated, the protein becomes defective. Research also indicates that the mutated p53 genes are more resistant to chemical cancer treatments.

Eating broccoli may help reduce cancer risks because the presence of isothiocyanate was seen to increase the death rate of cancer cells with the p53 mutation. Cauliflower is also great to eat because the isothiocyanate has been found to kill breast cancer cells.

I found this article simple and to the point. I think it’s funny how our parents always told us, “Eat your broccoli!” I even told my mom to read this article and she just laughed and said, “I told you so.” I think it’s great that a common vegetable such as broccoli or cauliflower can reduce the risk of certain cancers. Hopefully they can find cancer-reducing agents in foods such as cookies, cakes, etc. :)

The Culprit for the Spread of Cancer

Dr. Mark Matfield and a team of British scientists have uncovered the gene that is the culprit for the spread of cancerous tumors. This cancer spreading gene is know as the WWP2 gene or the rouge gene. These scientists discovered that this gene enhances the ability of tumors to grow and spread throughout the body. This research was sponsored by the Association of International Cancer Research and they are now using this discovery to find a new generation of drugs that will directly prohibit the WWP2 gene from working. The discovery of a new drug would stop the spread of diseases such as; breast, brain, colon, and skin cancer.

I think this new discovery is great and exactly what we needed. Cancer affects so many people all over the world and this discovery will have a huge impact on how we treat it. Once a successful new drug is created we will be able to safe many people who suffer from cancer now and maybe completely eliminate its existence in the future!

Substance in Breast Milk Kills Cancer Cells, Study Suggests

Researches are now using a substance known as HAMLET (Human Alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells), to effectively kill cancer cells from 40 different types of cancer in tests. After being treated with HAMLET, patients who have cancer of the bladder began expelling dead cancer cells in their urine after each dosage. HAMLET was actually stumbled upon accidentally, by researchers who were studying breast milks antibacterial characteristics. Future research hopes to lead to a medicine that can be used to assist in the battle against cancer.

- click here for full article -