Great contribution in 2019: Interpretation of heavyweight achievements in the field of tumor research

By the end of the year, 2019 is coming to an end, and we will be greeted by a brand-new 2020 In the coming 2019, scientists have made remarkable achievements in many research fields of tumor In this paper, the editor will sort out and share the heavyweight research achievements made by scientists in the field of tumor research this year! Photo source: sagaciousnewsnetwork.com [1] NAT cell biol: to identify the special protein doi: 10.1038/s41556-019-0429-8, which can promote the occurrence of cancer and inhibit the anti-tumor immunity of the body Recently, an international journal Nature cell was published In the Research Report on biology, scientists from MD Anderson Cancer Research Center at the University of Texas found that a special protein involved in the immune response to microorganisms can promote the occurrence of cancer and inhibit the immune response to diseases After studying the mouse model of lung cancer, the researchers found that when activated by growth factor (rather than innate immune mechanism), tank binding kinase 1 (tbk1) and its adaptor protein tbkbp1 (tbkbp1) can promote tumor development In this study, we found evidence for the first time that tbk1 can mediate the immunosuppression process in cancer cells, which shows that targeting tbk1 can not only inhibit tumor growth, but also promote the anti-tumor immunity of the body, said researcher Shao Cong sun Recently, it has been shown that knockout of tbk1 in lung cancer mouse model (driven by KRAS) can significantly reduce the number and size of tumor, while knockout of tbk1 in human lung cancer cell line can promote programmed cell death and inhibit tumor growth 【2】 Natural structure Mol Biol: to identify a new method of reactivating tumor suppressor gene expression doi: 10.1038/s41594-019-0293-z recently, a research report published in the international journal Nature Structural and molecular biology, scientists from University College London found a new method of reactivating tumor through research Inhibition genes, the results of related research are expected to help develop a new targeted therapy for cancer In this study, the researchers found a protein that blocks the regulatory protein PRC2 (Polycomb reactive complex 2 A new method of multiple comb inhibition complex 2) Healthy cells can use PRC2 to silence special genes, while the instructions of these genes can only be read by other types of cells Cancer cells will intercept the silence function of PRC2 to turn off tumor suppressor genes When activated, these genes will stop cell division, so if PRC2 is removed from these genes, It inhibits tumor growth 【3】 Cell: new research reveals the regulatory role of selective promoter in tumor doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.08.018 In a new study, researchers from research institutions such as the Singapore Genomics Institute (GIS) found that many human cancers show a wide range of changes in gene activation, and the same gene uses different starting positions to produce selective gene products These changes have not been detected by early analytical methods, and may be used to identify new biomarkers and new therapeutic targets for predicting the survival of cancer patients The results of the study were recently published in the journal Cell The human genome contains all our genes The region that controls where the gene starts is called the promoter, or the "switch" that turns on the gene in the genome Many genes have multiple promoters, which can even lead to different functions of the same gene Prior to this study, cancer scientists lacked a comprehensive investigation of alternative promoters in cancer genes and whether different promoters could lead to differences in clinical behaviors of cancer patients 【4】 Nat biotech: a new car-t cell therapy for highly effective attack on fatal brain tumors, which can clear 80% of the tumors doi: 10.1038/s41587-019-0192-1 In a new study, researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School found an exciting new cancer immunotherapy for patients with glioblastoma, one of the most common and deadly types of brain cancer Their new approach may make immunotherapy effective for brain tumors again, and it may help to use it to treat other types of solid tumors The results are published in the journal Nature Biotechnology This immunotherapy called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (car-t) involves the collection of immune aggressive T cells from patients and the gene modification of them so that they can recognize specific targets (antigens) on the tumor surface, and then infuse them back into the same patients Two car-t cell products have been approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which represent the cancer of the lymphatic system and the cancer of the blood respectively 【5】 Cell Metab: cancer scientists found a new drug target for a variety of tumor types doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2019.06.014 recently, in a research report published in the international journal cell metabolism, scientists from the University of California, San Diego School of medicine and other institutions identified an enzyme involved in the reconstruction of the plasmalemma of multiple cancer cells, which is beneficial to tumors Survival and uncontrolled growth are essential Cancer not only has major genomic changes, but also has important changes in how to absorb and use nutrition to promote tumor growth "So how can we combine these different aspects, how can we use them to benefit patients? In this paper, the researchers found that the level of an enzyme called lpcat1 in cancer patients will increase, which plays a key role in tumor growth by changing the phospholipid composition of the plasma membrane of tumor cells, allowing amplified and mutated growth factor signals to stimulate tumor growth Photo source: Frontiers [6] nature NAT medicine: a new breakthrough in cancer immunotherapy! Engineered bacteria act as a Trojan horse to effectively inhibit tumor progression! Doi: 10.1038/s41591-019-0498-z doi: 10.1038/nature18930 at present, the new field of synthetic biology design of new biological components and systems is completely changing the progress of medicine, through the inheritance of living cells By programming, researchers can develop an engineering system of intelligent perception and response to a variety of environments Compared with the current molecular based therapy, this new system can produce more specific and effective solutions Recently, an international magazine Nature In the Research Report on medicine, cancer researchers from Columbia University overcome the above problems through research By engineering modification of a non pathogenic bacteria, the researchers can plant it in solid tumors, and safely provide effective immunotherapy The engineered non pathogenic bacteria can play a "Trojan horse" to help resist Tumor The researchers pointed out that this new therapy can not only make the tumor completely subside in the model group of lymphoma mice, but also effectively control the tumor lesions in the distal part of the body without injection 【7】 Nature: it is revealed that protein tox is a key regulator of tumor specific T cell differentiation Doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1324-y tumor specific CD8 T cell dysfunction is a differentiation state different from functional effect T cell state or memory T cell state In a new study, researchers from memorial Sloan Caitlin cancer center, will Connell Graduate School of medicine and Vanderbilt University medical center, among others, identified Tox as a nuclear factor, a key regulator of tumor specific T cell differentiation The results were published in the journal Nature These researchers found that tox was highly expressed in tumor specific T cells from tumor dysfunction and dysfunctional T cells (also known as depleted T cells) during chronic virus infection Tox expression was driven by chronic T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation and NFAT activation 【8】 Nat Med: methionine is the metabolic dependence of tumor initiating cells doi: 10.1038/s41591-019-0423-5 understanding cell metabolism has great potential to develop new therapies for cancer metabolic pathways Compared with normal tissue, the metabolic pathway of massive tumor cells has changed However, cancer cells in tumor are heterogeneous, and tumor initiating cells (TICs) are important therapeutic targets, but their metabolic characteristics are not clear In order to understand their metabolic changes, researchers from the Genome Research Institute of the Singapore Bureau of science, technology and research, Nanyang University of technology and the National University of Singapore carried out metabonomics and metabolite tracking analysis on tics The results showed that tics had a high level of methionine cycle activity and methylation rate, which was driven by mat2a The researchers found that high methionine cycle activity led to the consumption of methionine far more than its regeneration, leading to exogenous methionine addiction By using drugs to inhibit the methionine cycle, even for a brief period of time, the researchers found that they could impair the ability of these cells to start tumors In addition, the researchers also demonstrated that the methionine cycle flux has a specific effect on the epigenetic state of cancer cells and drives tumor development 【9】 Cell: it is revealed that the tumor initiating stem cells lead to the recurrence of cancer after immunotherapy doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.025 as a strategy of using the body's immune system to resist cancer, immunotherapy greatly improves the prognosis of patients But, like many other cancer treatments, one of the lingering problems of immunotherapy is cancer recurrence In many cases, the tumor has recurred, but doctors don't know why Now, in a new study, researchers from Rockefeller University and other research institutions in the United States have identified tumor cells that block immunotherapy, and put forward new ideas on how they can do this The relevant research results are published in the journal Cell The researchers say immunotherapy has made exciting progress in cancer treatment, and the initial response of patients is very strong However, the cancer recurrence rate is disappointing In this new study, Miao and his colleagues developed mice with a form of squamous cell carcinoma that responded well to immunotherapy Using the cancer mouse model, they found that part of the cancer cells called tumor initiating stem cells survived the treatment by producing a molecule called CD80, which is located on the surface of these cancer cells and inhibits the effectiveness of immune cells in the body aimed at eradicating the cancer 【10】 Cell: scientists found that human pluripotent founder cells are expected to help understand the molecular mechanism of tumor carcinogenesis doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.03.013 In a research report published in the international journal Cell, scientists from McMaster University and other institutions conducted research on human stem cells A special cell subpopulation has been found, which seems to be able to send signals to promote the development and growth of surrounding cells The discovery of human pluripotent founder cells and their differential cell processes may help scientists better understand the carcinogenesis of tumors