Scientists discover molecule that helps cancer cells evade immune system

Date: Oct-08-2014 Immune therapy - where patients receive treatment that helps their immune system

fight disease - is a growing area in fighting cancer. Now, a new study promises to make such

treatments more effective - it has found a molecule called NF-kB that helps cancer cells evade

the immune system.

Drugs that target the NF-kB molecule could lead to improved treatments for cancer.

Reporting in the journal Cell Reports, senior investigator Denis Guttridge, an

assistant professor at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues suggest

immune therapy for cancer might be more effective if combined with drugs that inhibit NF-kB.

Their findings also show how interactions between cancer cells and non-cancer cells boost

tumor growth, as Gutteridge - an assistant professor of molecular virology, immunology and

medical genetics and of molecular and cellular biochemistry - explains:

"We've long known that NF-kB promotes cancer development by subverting apoptosis, an internal

safety mechanism that otherwise would cause cancer cells to self-destruct. This study shows that

NF-kB might coordinate a network of immune-suppressor genes whose products enable tumor cells to

evade adaptive immunity."

Blocking NF-kB might make tumors vulnerable to attack

The team suggests blocking NF-kB might make tumor cells more vulnerable to elimination by the

immune system.

In earlier work, the researchers had found NF-kB helps normal cells to repair faulty DNA, thereby

stopping it from causing harm. But what puzzled them was how and why such a molecule might

behave differently in cancer cells.

For their study, they observed how NF-kB behaved during tumor formation in live mice and the early stages

of mouse embryo development.

They found that immune cells known as macrophages migrate into the tumor during the early stages

of tumor development and, as expected, they release tumor necrosis factor to trigger cell

death. However, it appears that NF-kB enables cancer cells to survive this.

NF-kB may also be involved in immune suppression

The researchers discovered NF-kB may also regulate a number of genes related to immune suppression. When

they switched off one of these genes in cancer cells with active NF-kB, it killed the immune

suppression influence and slowed tumor growth.

"Overall, our findings demonstrate that NF-kB might play a pivotal role in enabling cells to

evade surveillance by both innate and adaptive immune cells," concludes Prof. Guttridge.

Funds from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health helped finance

the study.

Another area where immune therapy shows promise is in the treatment of advanced melanoma, where skin cancer has started to spread to other parts of the body. In June 2014, Medical News Today brought news from a conference in Chicago, IL, of immune therapy

trials for melanoma treatment that may improve long-term survival for patients with advanced

forms of the disease.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Not to be reproduced without permission.

Courtesy: Medical News Today Note: Any medical information available in this news section is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional.