Theprotein plaquesthat work up up in the brains of Alzheimer ’s sufferers can also acquire incancercells , do them to become abeyant . arm with this knowledge , researchers are now promising of devising new treatments that may be able to stop Crab in its tracks .
Reporting their breakthrough in the journalDevelopmental Cell , the study author explain that when cells are placed under highly stressful conditions – such as mellow temperature or a lack of oxygen – they strategically close down their major processes in gild to nullify malfunction . One of the ways in which they achieve this is byimmobilizing sure proteinsthat normally move freely through the cubicle for execute a range of social function .
InAlzheimer ’s , some protein become joined together to organise aggregations calledamyloids , which are toxic to neurons . Because most protein have the ability to conjoin these amyloids , the research worker theorise that they may also form elsewhere in the eubstance , dish out a beneficial purpose by interlace cellular proteins together and immobilizing them when cells require to temporarily shut down .
To test this , they place jail cell in a hypoxic environment – meaning a lack of oxygen – and used a special dyestuff to argue the presence of amyloids . They let out that hypoxia did indeed lead to the formation of amyloids , and that once oxygen level returned to normal , these amyloids disappeared .
The racy dot incise these cell are amyloid plaque . Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
From this , they were able to close that the organisation of amyloids play a key role in halting cellular function under accent , and that this process is two-sided . They also launch that both the organisation and dissolution of amyloids is mediate by a eccentric of genetic stuff know asnon - gull RNA .
Given that hypoxia has antecedently been associated withcancer cadre dormancy , the team decided to repeat the experiment using human genus Cancer cells , and find that once again , amyloid appear when O is abject , make cells to turn back dividing , and later unthaw when condition hark back to normal , free up private protein and enabling the Cancer the Crab to continue developing .
In astatement , study co - author Stephen Lee explained that “ if we can stop the amyloid bodies from disaggregating in Cancer the Crab prison cell , the promise is that they will rest hibernating indefinitely . ” Alternatively , he says “ we may also be able to plow fighting cancer cells into dormant one by further them to stash away the proteins as amyloid bodies . ”
Doing so may calculate on the maturation of medication that place the relevant non - coding RNA , make the formation of amyloids . Fortunately , Lee says that there are already a number of drug in development that could potentially act on this pathway .
