Scientists from the United States have presented a new approach to cancer treatment: using differentiated therapy, they made cancer cells become healthy again without the possibility of “changing their minds” and turning into a tumor again. The first successes were demonstrated on aggressive sarcoma. Now it is planned to use the new approach in the treatment of other types of tumors.
Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have shown that rhabdomyosarcoma cells can be transformed into healthy muscle cells, Science Alert reports. The breakthrough therapy is based on a differentiated approach that scientists discovered earlier by studying the characteristics of leukemia cells.
Rhabdomyosarcoma begins in skeletal muscles and is an aggressive type of cancer that affects children. Scientists decided to find out whether it was possible to turn tumor cells back into muscle cells. The fact is that in the course of leukemia research, it turned out that cancer cells do not fully mature, like undifferentiated stem cells. It is known that undifferentiated stem cells can be transformed into different types of adult cells.
To find the key to rhabdomyosarcoma cells, scientists conducted genetic screening and identified genes that can make cancer cells continue to develop into muscle cells. The main role in this mechanism was played by two proteins. Experiments showed that inhibition of NF-Y protein led to suppression of PAX3-FOXO1 protein, so that rhabdomyosarcoma cells continued their development, differentiating into mature muscle cells without signs of cancer activity.
“The tumor simply loses all the attributes of cancer. Instead of wanting to proliferate, the cell directs all its energy to the contractile function and can no longer return to its previous state,” explained co-author Christopher Wacock.
The new approach gives scientists the tools to find mechanisms to make tumor cells differentiate. For this reason, the authors see great potential for this strategy in the treatment of various types of tumors. Further research should confirm the universality of this approach.
