Researchers from the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S) of the University of Porto managed to map the spread of pancreatic cancer with the help of a “colorful spy”, opening the door to new treatments, as announced this Thursday.
In a statement, the Institute of the University of Porto specified that the study, published in the journal Nature Communications, allowed “for the first time to map the transmission of pancreatic cancer,” a cancer with a high mortality rate.
To be able to move the mapping forward, the researchers created a “color spy” that allows them to “follow the journey of vesicles secreted by pancreatic tumor cells.”
“Let’s imagine a ‘big brother’ inside the pancreas with tumor cells, a kind of spy that allows us to understand everything that is happening, and in particular how this type of cancer develops silently,” says i3S.
Although it is known that pancreatic cancer cells secrete extracellular vesicles and that these vesicles establish local and distant communication with other cells, it was unknown how the vesicles are distributed in space and time, which organs receive them, and what their effects are.
To answer these hypotheses, the researchers created “a genetically engineered pancreatic cancer mouse whose tumor cells secrete colored vesicles.”
“This allowed us to map which cells and organs these vesicles communicate with, what messages they convey, and how they help tumors grow,” said Sonia Melo, who led the study cited in the statement.
By analyzing vesicle distribution and tumor progression, the researchers concluded that “communication is not random, but rather directed and coordinated to drive disease progression and modify distant organs to its advantage.”
“One of the main organs that receives information from these vesicles secreted by pancreatic tumor cells is the thymus, where immune system cells are produced,” explains the researcher.
According to Sonia Melo, the information the pancreas sends “can change the immune response to the tumor, preventing immune cells from recognizing it.”
The distribution of vesicles from tumor cells in the pancreas was compared to the path taken by vesicles from a healthy pancreas, and the researchers proved that when they originate from a healthy pancreas, these vesicles are “important in inhibiting angiogenesis,” that is, the formation of new blood vessels. stimulated by tumor growth.
Thus, “they may be a way of maintaining the global balance of the human body and organ fitness.”
“These discoveries have the potential to improve patient care, since exosomes can be used as therapeutic targets, namely by blocking these communication pathways,” adds i3S and Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher Raquel Seruca from the Portuguese Institute of Oncology (IPO). in Port.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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