Blood vessel genotype switch causes cancer stir
An important breakthrough in the way anti-cancer drugs are tested has been made by scientists at the University of East Anglia – but it turns out they weren’t studying what they thought they were.
An important breakthrough in the way anti-cancer drugs are tested has been made by scientists at the University of East Anglia – but it turns out they weren’t studying what they thought they were.
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Capilaries showing expression of genes normally present only in lymphatic cells |
Dr Lin Cooley and her team believed they were studying blood vessel cells – knowing that a tumour cannot grow or spread without developing its own blood supply, they were looking for ways to halt capillary formation to stop tumours taking hold. In fact, they were studying lymphatic cells – the cells had switched their genetic profile and turned on genes specific to lymphatic cells.
“It has always been thought that cells could not change from blood to lymphatic vascular cells,” said Cooley, “Other researchers have been doing experiments thinking they were looking at blood vessels, when in fact they were looking at lymphatic vascular cells.”
“This breakthrough is important,” she continued, “because they have not been studying what they think they have been studying. It is a big discovery and will be very important in testing potential anti-cancer drugs.”
The researchers used human vein cells in experiments where they form capillaries – the smallest of the body’s blood vessels – when cultured in various environments similar to the body. They discovered that when vein cells form tube structures, they switch their genetic profile turning off genes expressed by blood vessels and turning on genes specific to lymphatic vessels.
“This change can be reversed, and is dependent on the particular environment they are cultured in,” said Cooley, “We have also shown that their identity changes in response to the cell’s environment rather than being only specified by signals during early embryonic development.”
Scientists hope their discovery will propel the race to find revolutionary new treatments.
