Understanding hibernations role in regulating cancer predation-and what humans cant learn from it

Most biology tells us that the body has things it needs to function normally and that cancer cells typically overtake healthy cells. But for cancer understanding hibernation (or lack of) in specific ways hasnt emerged until now. A review in the journal Nature Medicine shows that hibernating cancer cells tend to do little more than repress hormonal signaling in other cells mimicking hibernation in eggs or other animals in ways that limit the number of cells that can survive. For example the solid tumors that could become chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) events appear to limit the number of circulating tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs) that can move into the blood ducts of malignant patients.

Our hypothesis was that the alterations in the number of cells that survive could explain the limited survival of cancer cells said Ph. D. candidate Alexis Mihai lead author of the review. Despite their small size TAsFs play a bigger role in cancer than the lab indicated. Since TAFs are precursors to many cancers amplifying the impact of TAFs could explain upregulation of cancer suppression.

The data comes from the Excellence in Cancer Collaborative an international consortium that gathers and channels the experience of more than 1500 cancer investigators. The initial study looked at some of the most common types of cancer-Cancer myelogenous leukemia (CML) adenocarcinoma and some sarcoma-like cancer. The new analysis included comparisons of controlled hibernating in cancer cells against control cancer cells in a mouse pattern.

The researchers ascertained that when they confused between healthy and cancer cells the majority-97 percent-of mice had healthy cells in the blood and associated lymph nodes. When asked to evaluate the ability to control CML most mice in the group had reduced expression of the kinase kinase-2 (KI2) inhibitor or full-dose treatment. The results suggest that KI inhibitors may be particularly effective when used in combination with other cancer-fighting approaches said co-principal investigator Andrew C. Hall Ph. D. Our findings just made the rounds online.