Spanish and Israeli scientists conducted an experiment in vitro aimed at modifying the genetic nature of cancerous cells, to make them healthy. A potentially major advance in the fight once morest cancer.
Will it soon be possible to cure cancer by reversing the disease’s biological process of transforming healthy cells into malignant cells? It is in any case a new hope allowed by the results of a research program carried out in collaboration by Spanish and Israeli scientists.
In an article dedicated to their work posted on the journal’s website Naturethe researchers claim to have succeeded in disrupt the genetic nature of cancer cells by making chemical changes to their messenger RNA, througha technique called epigeneticsallowing the same DNA to be used differently from one cell to another.
Is it possible to “modify” cancer cells?
In other words, we are here facing a potential revolution in the fight once morest cancer. Because if the molecular alterations responsible for the conversion of healthy tissue into tumor tissue have been widely studied in recent decades, scientists until now knew very little regarding the reverse process, which can lead a cancerous cell to become non-cancerous once more.
It is on this cellular transformation that the researchers have focused, by developing a model in vitro in which leukemia cells were treated to turn into a type of harmless immune cell called macrophages.
During their research, the scientists observed a change in the genetic nature of these cells following a considerable revision of the chemical changes occurring on their messenger RNA. These changes mainly affected the distribution of an epigenetic marker called methylated adenine.
A new approach to curing leukemia?
Results promising enough for the team of researchers, who believe that this research should be explored further as a new approach to combat leukemia, of which half a million patients are diagnosed worldwide each year. However, the program has not yet been tested in patients.
“The first preclinical drugs once morest this target have already been developed in experimental models of malignant blood diseases, so we provide another reason why these new drugs might be useful in cancer therapies, especially in the case of leukemias and lymphomas”concludes Dr. Manel Esteller, who heads the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute at the University of Barcelona.
