Cell Metabol: Heavy! Scientists have discovered new paths that promise to attack cancer cells

February 9, 2021 // -- In a recent study published in the international journal Cell Metabolism, scientists from the Technion Institute of Technology and others found new paths to attack cancer cells.
When treating cancer, researchers are always looking for ways to remove cancer cells and minimize damage to other parts of the body, one possibility being to identify and target cancer cell-specific processes that, if interfered with, kill only cancer cells.
process is very special for some types of cancer, but it does not seem to exist in other types of cancer.
In this case, the researchers wanted to develop an easy way to determine whether a particular tumor process has unique characteristics, and the question is whether the tumor will respond to the treatment so that it can benefit cancer patients, not prove it through trial and error.
: CC0 Public Domain researchers say they may be able to target such processes in cancer cells without damaging the body's healthy tissue.
folic acid cycle is an important process of DNA and RNA production, which is critical to the functioning of cancer cells and healthy cells, because DNA production is a critical stage in cell division and tumor growth, and folic acid cycle is a common target for chemotherapy, but for the same reason, attacking the target may not have significant side effects.
there are actually two folic acid cycles, the first in the cell's energy factory, the mitochondrial, and the second in the cytostyte, and the healthy cells are able to switch switches between the two folic acid cycles.
researcher Professor Shlomi and others have found that multiple tumor cells may rely solely on a second cytocyte route, which means that if treatment targets the cytocytolic folic acid cycle, healthy cells will switch to mitochondrial cycles without damage, which can lead to cancer cell death.
researchers also need to clarify whether mitochondrial folic acid cycles are indeed insulated in specific tumors, and that RCF is a transport protein that regulates folic acid levels in cells, and that lower RCFs mean lower folic acid levels.
found that lower folic acid levels are highly destructive for mitochondrial cycles, so lower RCF tumors may be susceptible to cytogenic cycle blocking therapy.
the study, we found both paths that could be attacked and new therapies that can identify and effectively attack tumors, the researchers said.
() Original source: Won Dong Lee, Anna Chiara Pirona, Boris Sarvin, et al. Tumor Reliance on Cytosolic versus Mitochondrial One-Carbon Flux Depends on Folate Availability, Cell Metabolism (2020). DOI:10.1016/j.cmet.2020.12.002