The body's process of producing fatty acids is controlled by the FASN enzyme. In normal cells, this is not a very active process. However, liver and adipose tissue occasionally have exceptions. Because most of the fatty acids needed to maintain our cells come from our diet. However, it is well known that FASN is overexpressed in many types of cancers, including prostate cancer, breast cancer, thyroid cancer, colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer.
Therefore, even though little is known about the relationship between FASN and disease, scientists around the world are still studying FASN as a potential target for cancer treatment. A team of researchers currently led by Miguel Quintela-Fandino, head of breast cancer clinical research at the National Cancer Center of Spain (CNIO), has discovered the connection between FASN and cancer, and the treatment of blocking FASN is in the early stages of cancer. It shows that it is very effective in preventing the development of tumors in mice and cell cultures, but it cannot be treated once it appears. The results were published on Natural Exchange. One of the main findings of this study is that the importance of FASN in the development of cancer has nothing to do with its ability to produce fatty acids. Previously, it was thought that tumor cells would over-activate FASN to produce energy and build their cell membranes. "But this study shows that cancer continues to capture these fatty acids from the circulating blood." In this study, "therefore, cancer cells do not need FASN to synthesize fatty acids."
Cancer needs FASN to help achieve this goal. The researchers found that in the process of transforming normal cells into cancer cells, FASN is essential for one of the key processes (called cancer markers): independent growth and fixation, that is, growing under this condition. The surface is hard, which is a capacity that ordinary batteries do not have. "In addition to other signs (such as invasion ability and resistance to programmed cell death), an important feature that defines the transformation of a cell into a malignant cell is its spontaneous growth and separation from the tissue. "Positioning" research leader Kintera explained. When they separate, normal cells enter a process called innervation, while tumor cells continue to grow when they die. "Without FASN, there is no tumor.
The team used a recombinant mouse model that developed into aggressive breast cancer and found that eliminating FASN did not cause tumors to appear. Explanation: When the amount of free radicals produced reaches a certain level, they will suffocate cancer cells because FASN regulates the reductive carboxylation process to remove excess free radicals. Use FASN. Therefore, blocking FASN in our study caused free radicals to accumulate in an uncontrolled manner, thereby hindering tumor growth. Cells successfully induced by overexpression of known cancer genes (such as KRAS (related to lung cancer) or PyMT and HER2 (related to breast cancer)) in normal mouse cell cultures are transformed into malignant cells. Through elimination, normal cells will not become cancer cells even if the genes of cancer cells are overexpressed
Researchers around the world are studying the potential of FASN in the treatment of certain types of cancer. However, the results of the CNIO team indicate that its effectiveness is preventive rather than therapeutic. Quintera said: "Our mouse model has a high incidence of breast cancer. This type of breast cancer is found in areas where FASN is present. It becomes cancer. There is no tumor development in areas where FASN is blocked, and the survival rate is improved. 68%. When trying to inhibit FASN in an established tumor, it has a short-term effect and has little effect on tumor progression. "In the next step, the research team found these findings. We are trying to study the impact of the immune system on metastasis and tumor response. In the future, the potential applications of these findings can also be divided into risk groups.