Scientists at the Spanish Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) discovered a new communication mechanism that promotes physical cell metastasis in cancers, which opens the possibility to develop a treatment to halt the spread of tumors.
The discovery was presented today at a press conference by scientist and principal investigator, Xavier Trepat, and the director of IBEC, Josep Samitier.
As explained Trepat, unlike other mechanisms based on biochemical processes, the new finding is based on a physical process of forces between cells.
The researcher noted that communication between cells is key to the coordinated operation of the organs of the body, therefore, the loss of this communication is one of the characteristic features of various diseases such as cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases.
Traditionally, the loss of communication between cells had been understood as an alteration of purely biochemical signals, as hormones.
However, the research team, led by Xavier Trepat, challenged the traditional view and worked with the idea that the physical communication between cells is as important as the chemical.
In his research, published in the journal Nature Cell Biology , scientists identified the molecules involved in cell physical communication, some of which saw are altered in several cancers, which according Trepat, opens new possibilities for the control of metastasis.
“The discovery was made possible by the combination of nanotechnology, mathematics and molecular biology, and is a revolution because it is the first time that trying to understand how it works metastasis from the point of view of physics and biochemistry at once, “said Trepat.
To identify the proteins responsible for communication, the group of scientists developed new experimental strategies combining molecular biology, nanotechnology and mathematical models.
Through the physics of forces, scientists found two molecules, the ‘E-cadherin’ and ‘P-cadherin’, which are present in the more aggressive breast cancer and found that help cancer to move and grab new tissue cells.
“These molecules act as sensors and give the cells the ability to control the speed and distance his movement “key element metastasis, Trepat said.
The group of scientists used epithallial breast cells for research, although Trepat stated that” most epithelial cancers surely follow the same physical functioning “.
In addition, the scientist explained that based on physical laws discovery” can have many applications beyond cancer, such as Alzheimer’s and many chronic inflammatory diseases. “
He concluded that “physics is equally important that the chemistry in these processes.” (EFE)
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