蛋白质疗法,癌细胞扩散 z-bo 2020-09-16 409

　　The proliferation of cancer cells is the culprit responsible for the death of most cancer patients. At present, medical workers usually use chemotherapy to inhibit the metastasis of cancer cells, but the effect of chemotherapy itself is limited, and it will bring strong side effects. The results of a recent study may be able to help cancer patients relieve the pain of chemotherapy in the future.

　　A research team from Stanford University in the United States has developed a protein therapy that can disrupt the separation of cancer cells from tumors and prevent cancer cells from spreading in the body through blood circulation and other channels. The journal Nature Chemical Biology published this result of Jennifer Cochran, associate professor of biological engineering at Stanford University and his team.

　　Many biological activity processes rely on the interaction between proteins, and the "molecular switch" between proteins ensures the operation of various specific activities. Of course, cancer cells are no exception. The team found a way to inhibit the spread of cancer cells through the synergy of Axl and Gas6.

　　Axl protein will be distributed on the surface of cancer cells like hair, waiting to receive the biochemical signal of Gas6 protein. When Gas6 and Axl proteins connect in pairs, the signals they generate will cause cancer cells to break away from the tumor tissue and spread through the body to spread to other parts of the body, forming new tumor tissues called metastatic nodules.

　　According to a report by the physicist organization network on September 21, in order to prevent this process, the research team used gene manipulation technology to create millions of DNA sequences containing different Axl variants, and tested nearly 10 million Axl variants among them. Efficient screening was carried out, and the variants that could tightly bind to Gas6 were selected. After the selected Axl variants were adjusted by experiment, the binding rate with Gas6 was further increased, the storage time of the variants in the blood was prolonged, and the combination of the two was difficult to reverse, and it was harmless through artificial "directed evolution". Axl protein "bait". This bait protein has a higher ability to attract Gas6 than the natural Axl protein. It makes full use of the affinity between proteins and can preemptively make the Gas6 protein of cancer cells ineffective, thereby inhibiting the spread of cancer cells.

　　The research team also collaborated with Professor Amato Garcia, the head of the Stanford Cancer Center's radiobiology project, to inject this protein bait into the veins of experimental mice with aggressive breast and ovarian cancer for testing. The results found that compared with the control group, the metastatic nodules of cancer cells in the mice injected with the protein bait were reduced by 78% and 90%, respectively.

　　Garcia believes that this currently appears to have no side effects and effective method will have broad prospects in the future, and may open up a new way to overcome cancer.

　　Researchers said that this is only a promising preliminary result. In the next step, animal experiments are required to obtain approval for human clinical trials from relevant departments, and ultimately verify whether the method is effective in humans. In the future, biotechnology will be needed to manufacture high-purity Axl bait materials that can be used in clinical trials, so that this technology will gradually be put into practical use.