If cancer cells lack a certain protein, it could be much easier for them to penetrate healthy body tissue, the first step towards forming metastases.
Scientists at the Pharmacology Institute of the University of Heidelberg have discovered the previously unknown cell signal factor SCAI (suppressor of cancer cell invasion), which inhibits the movement and spread of tumor cells in laboratory tests. When the factor's functioning was disrupted, the cancer cells moved much more effectively in what are known as three-dimensional matrix systems, which imitate some of the tissue properties of the human body.
"The protein is apparently suppressed in many types of tumors, e.g. breast, lung, or thyroid," explains Dr. Robert Grosse, head of the Emmy Noether Junior Research Group funded by the German Research Association (DFG) at the Pharmacology Institute. The new factor could be an interesting starting point for research into new mechanisms for fighting cancer. The research team's results have now been published online in the prestigious international journal Nature Cell Biology .
Focus on particularly aggressive cancers
Tumor cells are extremely mobile and "adept" at penetrating healthy tissue to form metastases. They adapt to the consistency of the respective tissue by changing their shapes constantly and attach flexibly to surrounding tissues during movement with the help of special surface structures (receptors).