Cancer cells are similar to ordinary cells. Its just that they grow abnormally. This is the reason why treatments that specifically attempt to dispose of the cancer cells while securing the normal cells don't work very well. Consider a scenario in which we could alter the irregular growth without needing to murder the cells.
It looks this is exactly what a group of specialists at the Mayo Clinic have quite recently done. Their lab tests on human cells from bosom and bladder cancer demonstrate that, with a straightforward intervention, they can program cancer cells back to normal again.
Generally the cells in your body, in a slow pace, are replaced by new ones through the process of cell division. Its a complex process and hundreds of steps need to be executed right. When done so, the final step is to instruct the cell to stop dividing. In cancer cells, its at this step where everything goes wrong, resulting in a tumor.
The researchers at Mayo Clinic Lab observed that the final step is controlled by biological processors termed as microRNAs. These so called microRNAs instruct the cells to synthesize a protein called PLEKHA7 which, when in just the right amount puts a halt to the cell division.
Well in the case of cancer cells, its the level of this PLEKHA7 that goes wrong. At the point when the researchers infused microRNAs into cancer cells, the levels of PLEKHA7 were restored and the abnormal growth ceased. The consequences of the study are published in Nature Cell Biology.
Well obviously, the experiment conducted on human cells in a lab is a far way off being used as a treatment for cancer. But still, with many potential ways of treating cancer cells emerging, the hope
for a cure has never been this high.
It looks this is exactly what a group of specialists at the Mayo Clinic have quite recently done. Their lab tests on human cells from bosom and bladder cancer demonstrate that, with a straightforward intervention, they can program cancer cells back to normal again.
Generally the cells in your body, in a slow pace, are replaced by new ones through the process of cell division. Its a complex process and hundreds of steps need to be executed right. When done so, the final step is to instruct the cell to stop dividing. In cancer cells, its at this step where everything goes wrong, resulting in a tumor.
The researchers at Mayo Clinic Lab observed that the final step is controlled by biological processors termed as microRNAs. These so called microRNAs instruct the cells to synthesize a protein called PLEKHA7 which, when in just the right amount puts a halt to the cell division.Well in the case of cancer cells, its the level of this PLEKHA7 that goes wrong. At the point when the researchers infused microRNAs into cancer cells, the levels of PLEKHA7 were restored and the abnormal growth ceased. The consequences of the study are published in Nature Cell Biology.
Well obviously, the experiment conducted on human cells in a lab is a far way off being used as a treatment for cancer. But still, with many potential ways of treating cancer cells emerging, the hope
for a cure has never been this high.
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