Although cancer research has made great progress in recent years, treatments that still cause very serious side effects are still being used. This is a neurological disease caused by chemotherapy with platinum derivatives (such as cisplatin and oxaliplatin). These drugs can damage the surrounding nervous system, cause progressive and increased sensitivity loss, and even affect mobility. The occurrence of these side effects may lead to a reduction in dosage or a change in treatment, resulting in a decrease in efficacy. In order to design drugs that reduce or avoid the side effects of cisplatin, it is important to understand the mechanism that causes neuropathy. This is the focus of research conducted by the Belvit Institute of Biomedical Sciences (IDIBELL), the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), the Belvitte University Hospital (HUB) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB). Among them, cisplatin overexpresses p21, Indicates to do. The protein induces aging of peripheral neurons, which may explain the mechanism of neurological diseases.
So far, it has been believed that oxidative stress and apoptotic cell death can cause cisplatin neuropathy. "Project leader Dr. Jodi Bruner said. This study published in Neuro-Oncology shows that neurons respond to cisplatin damage through a series of metabolic changes. These changes put them in a permanent dormant state. , Which causes the symptoms of neuropathy, rather than the direct death of neurons previously thought. According to research, the administration of cisplatin may induce the overexpression of p21 protein. It is a protein that can respond to damage and regulate the process of aging and apoptosis However, studies have shown that pathways related to apoptosis have not been activated.
In addition, electron microscopy studies and molecular markers of cellular senescence confirmed that neurons exhibited morphological characteristics of senescence after treatment with cisplatin. So far, clinical trials of neuroprotective therapy aimed at alleviating platinum neuropathy have failed. "This may be because the focus of treatment is to prevent neuronal apoptosis." Bruna added, "This study provides new targets for reducing platinum neuropathy. These chemotherapy treatments provide neuroprotective treatments that can prevent neuropathy. Compared with anti-tumor drugs designed to prevent apoptosis, anti-tumor drugs are less likely to develop. Cisplatin chemotherapy is not affected by this common side effect.
These studies used mouse models that mimic the clinical characteristics of patients. Through cell separation, we personalize neurons in each dorsal ganglion of the spinal cord, study the genes expressed at all times, and verify them through protein expression. This is a kind of innovative method that has never been used in this field.