Making cell division impossible: Optimized substance forces cancer cells into death
The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ)
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Summary
Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now developed a substance that thwarts this trick and forces cancer cells into death during cell division. When normal cells divide, the chromosomes are distributed evenly to exactly two daughter cells. The process is regulated by centrosomes. The cells are located at the opposite sides of the cell and they start forming spindle fiber to each chromosome. As a result of this cell division, two daughter cells are formed. Cancer cells have too many centrosomes that usually lead them to death, but most of them have developed a trick to escape this fate: They form clusters of polar bodies at two poles. Scientists of DKFZ have discovered this clustering as a potential treatment for cancer years ago. They have been able to optimize this substance for use in cancer treatment.The optimized agent GF-15 reduces the tension of the protein fibers and thus prevents clustering. As a result, cell division proceeds in a chaotic manner and this eventually leads to the death of the cancer cell. This treatment has been proved to work effectively in various types of cancer as colon cancer, cervical cancer, brain tumors, and blood cancer. GF-15 did not show any affect to normal cells.The scientists tested this treatment on mice with colon cancer, and result showed that mice with the treatment live longer than the untreated one with no negative effects. In the future, scientists will do more tests to prove whether GF-15 can really be use as a anti-cancer medicine.
Connection
This article is connected to the cell cycle unit. It is connected to cell cycle unit because it detailed about cell division and the differences between normal cell division and can cells division. It is also connected to the cell cycle and cancer cells section. Cancer has been the most dangerous and dreadful human disease. Labs and scientists have been discovering the connection between cell division and cancer cells spreading. It would be such a great news to everyone in the world if GF-15 can be used as a anti-cancer treatment with no negative effects.
Have other scientists (not from DKFZ) done experiments similar to the one done on mice with colon cancer?
ReplyDeleteThere are many scientists who have done experiments on mice with colon cancer. A scientist named Matthew R. Young has established a mouse models for colon cancer in 2009. With studying with the model, he has successfully detected tumors as small 1.2 mm3 in the mouse colon by MRI(Magnetic Resonance Imaging )
Deletewhy do cancer cells cluster at the poles and normal ones don't?
ReplyDeleteCancer is the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells anywhere in the body. These abnormal cells later gather and become tumors. Normal cells do cell division at a normal speed so they do not cluster at the poles.
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