Nature: scientists lock in cancer-related proteins, which are expected to delay cancer progression

May 24, 2019 / BIOON / - a new study by the University of Nebraska Lincoln, the Wistar Institute and other research institutions shows that locking a biochemical gate that allows energy substances to enter immune suppressor cells can slow tumor progression and help treat multiple cancers The study, published in nature recently, found that the level of fatty acid transporter 2 (fatp2) increased in a cell known to inhibit immune response and cancer treatment After isolating tumor cells from humans and mice, the researchers also found a significant increase in the amount of fat 2 that helps produce and transport energy into the cells to supply lipids Photo source: nature in general, the results of this study show that fatp2 is involved in the process of malicious recombination of the most common white cells in the human body, so that these white cells cannot play the role of the first responder in the fight against infection When the researchers removed genes associated with fatp2, they found that several cancers - lymphoma, lung cancer, colon cancer and pancreatic cancer - grew significantly slower in mice Previously, concetta dirusso, Nebraska, found a compound, lipofermata, that inhibits fatp2 When it was mixed with a drug that destroys cell replication, the compound also helped slow down or even inhibit tumor growth Studies have shown that targeting fatp2 in immunosuppressive cells can prevent lipid accumulation and reduce tumor progression without obvious side effects "I think what's special is that it's not specific to a particular cancer, it's what excites us "Dirusso is a co-author of the study and a professor of Biochemistry at George Holmes University "It's a very promising thing to be able to target some common cells for different cancers "It can't completely clear (the tumor), but it can play a certain inhibitory effect We are now more interested in combination therapy It doesn't target just one target, it targets tumors in many ways, because tumors are smart Cancer has found a way around our best drugs, and that's why the combination of these drugs is so powerful that we want to be more effective "Dmitry gabrilovich of the Wistar Institute and his colleagues first noticed an increase in fatp2 in solid tumors a few years ago Their observation prompted gabrilovich to contact Paul black, a Nebraska biochemist who studied the basic principles of how fat molecules pass through cell membranes Black's lab's early work on yeast has found a gene fragment and related protein that can activate and carry fatty acids into cells where they are metabolized into energy or embedded in cell membranes This protein is fatp2 "If there is a gate on the cell membrane that controls the amount of fat entering the body, and then you start to control the gate, it will affect the downstream material," said black, Professor Charles Bessey and head of the Department of biochemistry If a cancer cell needs to be fed with lipid to metastasize and become a serious disease, it must up regulate the protein content So this gate plays a key role in all of these metabolic systems "Black's previous research has also helped identify two variants of fatp2: one is the major fatty acids used in metabolism, and the other is used to transport them across cell membranes This important difference provides the basis for the research of dirusso laboratory The lab screened more than 100000 anti fatp2 compounds that may help fight obesity and type 2 diabetes Lipofermata, the most effective candidate drug, basically eliminated fat accumulation in tissue culture and reduced the absorption of lipids in mice by more than 60%, which made dirusso obtain the patent of the drug for the treatment of metabolic diseases So when gabrielovich contacted black, he quickly got in touch with dirusso The two eventually provided gabrielovich with the biochemical insights, samples, and lifermata he needed to conduct his team's experiments "Whether it's cancer biology or diabetes, or anything you're pursuing in this biomedical world, you can't do it yourself anymore," Black said "He said:" we can sit up and do our own things, just like a small shaft, such days are gone Some of our early mechanical work was done in this way, but now the work is too complex It's just a lot of information "We don't know the whole picture, but the data that will be released soon will push it forward very, very quickly "Reference: Dmitry I gabriovich et al Pretty acid transporter 2 reprogrammes robots in cancer, nature (2019) Doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1118-2