The metastasis of cancer cells could be slowed down by artificially increasing a protein

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Researchers found that it is possible to stop intravasation in cancer cells and ultimately metastasis by artificially stimulating the expression of a specific protein.

A groundbreaking study led by members of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore also sheds light on the mechanisms of intravasation, or the part of cancer cell movement, in which infected cells separate from the primary tumor, cross the vessel walls and enter the bloodstream or lymph Network. This allows them to migrate and spread to other parts of the body and form tumor colonies.

Details of their new discovery are presented in the latest Science Advances in a report entitled “The TRPM7 Fluid Shear Stress Sensor Regulates Intravasation of Tumor Cells”.

Shear stress protein that could stop cancer cells from spreading

The protein that could potentially stop tumor cells from intravasation and metastasis is called TRPM7, a protein that can measure the pressure of fluid moving along a circuit and signal cells to move further in a vasculature.

“We have found that metastatic tumor cells have a significantly reduced level of this sensor protein and therefore enter the circulation efficiently instead of turning away from the flow of fluid,” explains Kaustav Bera, first author of the study and Ph.D. Candidates in chemistry and biomolecular engineering from Johns Hopkins University, in a university press release.

In their study, the researchers successfully demonstrated that the artificial increase in TRPM7 expression in tumor cells prevents intravasation and thus metastasis.

(Photo: National Cancer Institute via Wikimedia Commons)
Cancer cells in culture from human connective tissue, illuminated with dark field-enhanced contrast, at 500x magnification.

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A new purpose for an already known receptor

As reported in a 2018 study in the journal Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, the protein TRPM7 has already been identified and is known to regulate calcium levels in cells. However, the new study promises new potential for the protein. Konstantinos Konstantopoulos, lead study author, professor of chemistry and biomolecular engineering and part of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, compared the process to touching a hot object, grasping and realizing that it is hot, and instinctively removing your hand.

In their study with the TRPM7, the researchers observed how the protein detects the flow of fluid in the circulatory system and its ability to instruct the cell to reverse its direction and thus prevent invasion.

They also explained that human cells, such as those found in muscles, fats, organs, and skin, normally stay where they are under normal conditions. The main exception is blood cells, which move around the body to transport materials and defend the body against foreign objects. However, there are also cancer cells that have mutations that allow them to travel and spread to different parts of the body.

In their first experiments, the researchers first observed samples of healthy fibroblast cells moving through microchannels arranged in a configuration in which the fluid remains controllable. As the cells passed channels with moving fluids, they began to move in the opposite direction – a reaction driven by the shear stress applied to the cells by the flowing fluid. On the other hand, if the cells entered channels with no moving fluid, they kept moving.

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For more news and information on cancer, see the Science Times.

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