Hijacking Cells

Did you know hijacking happens also in the microscale? Well, it does.
A recent discovery from Queen Mary University of London shows that an over expression of the protein Myosin II in skin cancer cells hijacks and reprograms cells from the immune system (macrophages) to turn them into their helpers. In this way, cancerous cells can survive more time and get more invasive. Also, with the help of some substances, they can make little holes on the blood vessels around them and enter the bloodstream more easily.

This new mechanism gives scientists some hints on how to treat this disease better. Looking for already existing inhibiting drugs for Myosin II applied to cancer cells is an approach being used right now. In this way, this pathway cannot be used by the melanoma, thus developing slower and inhibiting the reprogramming of our first line of defense.

Researchers from Barts Cancer Institute mention that this approach may prove useful in the fight against melanoma. There are plans to bring this therapy to the clinic in combination with other existing treatments. It still must go through a clinical trail process and won’t be available to the general public until approximately 7 years, but these improvements help us in the fight against cancer. We will stay connected to these stories and the possible benefits it can get to patients suffering from this type of cancer worldwide.